


Nine Lives of Chloe King: a coninutation of the show

by Shelpytheturtle



Category: The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance, Teenagers, Television, Wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 18:57:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 62,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1994139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shelpytheturtle/pseuds/Shelpytheturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A continuation of the amazing television show that got canceled and left all of its viewers hanging around! :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Amy and Paul’s curious heads peaked into the museum, and as soon as they took a glimpse of me they began to sprint. But as soon as they took a glimpse at the pale, human lump in my arms they stuttered to a halt.  
I just stared right through them, unblinking and unable to breathe. The lobby seemed to be suffocating me even though it appeared to be an expansive ballroom with room to spare; funny how things work out like that.  
“He’s dead.” I said emotionlessly to no one in particular. Maybe I was reassuring myself of what I had done, or I just felt like telling the dark empty walls because maybe they cared, or I was really telling Amy and Paul without making eye contact. I don’t know, I really don’t. But I do know that I had forgotten how to feel, I was numb, sitting there with the guy I love motionless in my arms. The guy I love- I really do love him, I thought with dim realization.  
This was my fault. Tears glossed my eyes; time seemed to have slowed to an unbearable rate as I sat in the deadly silence.  
Brian’s hand still fit into mine from when he had leapt to my side, and I tried to remember the feel, however cold it was by then.  
What had I done?  
I had killed him.  
The passionate taste of his lips still lingered painfully on mine. I would give up that one, magical but half-conscious kiss to keep him alive. I would do anything.  
“Chlo-“ Amy began, tears openly trailing down her face, but her voice dried out into a faint whisper in the non-existent wind. Paul wrapped a stricken arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders but, after a second, she brushed it away and was kneeling at my side on the grand staircase.  
“Chloe are you-“ Amy sputtered. “Are you bleeding?” She reached a tentative hand out towards my polka-dotted-with-blood tank top, but I just shook my head and swatted her away.  
“Gun shot wounds, whatever.”  
“G-gun shot wounds?” Amy stood up abruptly. “We need to get her out of here,” she said to Paul. I know she was trying to help, but I didn’t want to move.  
“Come on-“  
“No!” I barked. Amy flinched. I felt sorry for that later. “No,” I said more gently. “Please, just let me stay here with him. Let me sit here with Brian.” His name left a sweet but bitter flavor in my mouth.  
Amy stared into my eyes, my best friend struggling to physically and emotionally help me at once.  
I finally dared to look down at him. His deep lifeless eyes were open, staring up at the tall ceiling; his hand was limp in mine along with his legs that dove down the staircase. I caressed his cheek. His flesh was already growing impeccably cold. And at the thought of that, the dam broke- tears flowed down my face shamelessly.  
“He’s dead,” I sobbed. “Brian is- I killed him!” Guilt exploded in my head causing an aching behind my eyes.  
“I-is the bullet out of her?” Paul spoke up suddenly, seriously.  
“Bullet’s,” I correctly too casually.  
Amy’s eye grew wide. Paul studied me like I was about to faint or something. I did feel kind of light, but I knew that was because this didn’t feel real. None of it did!  
“Chloe, I think the bullets are still inside of you,” Paul continued.  
“I’m calling 911!” Amy said.  
“You know, if things weren’t such a mess right now I might say that that is totally cool that you don’t even seem to feel the bullet’s. Its like you are totally indestructible after you die-“  
“PAUL!” Amy scolded.  
“What? I’m just saying.”  
I shook my head. Black spots were starting to fog the outskirts of my vision.  
“Don’t call the cops Amy,” I ordered to her. “Please, it will only cause more trouble. How could I-“ I hesitated, still keeping my eyes on Brian. I was afraid to look anywhere else, as if his body might disappear from me forever. I hugged him closer.  
“How could I explain this?”  
A clamorous thudding from the second floor echoed all over the room, leaving the question unanswered; Amy and Paul’s heads glanced up in that direction nervously. We held our breaths and remained silent for a moment. I tried to brush away my tear stained face and I tuned in to the noise up above us. No time for crying now.  
Footsteps sprinted down the short hall. Men’s heavy, angry breathing. Frustrated mumbles. My badness radar skyrocketed.  
I didn’t forget about you thugs, I thought with an inward sigh.  
Closer came the footsteps. The mumbles started to clear: “You and you, take care of the extras. I’ll get that little bitch myself.”  
Pounding. The noise was throbbing furiously in my head like fire. I tried to blink away more black specks. Sweat started to form on my forehead.  
“Amy, Paul,” I breathed, “you have to ru-“  
“CHLOE RUN!” Amy shrieked. She snatched my arms and tried to tug them up, but I held too tightly onto Brian’s hand.  
“CHLOE GET UP! GET UP!” She panicked. I glanced back behind me to see three burly men in black racing to the top of the stairs. They smiled wickedly- revengefully.  
“Oh, you again,” I panted. “Glad you could make it to the thuneral. Sadly, the invitations said not to wear black. Its just so cliché and quite frankly depressing”  
I put myself into a fit of coughing.  
Amy still tugged futilely onto my arms.  
The three men started to descend the stairs. Luckily, the stairs were pretty long so I had a couple of seconds to say, “Paul take Brian. Amy, go with Paul and-“ more coughing commenced, but this time my chest ached along with it- “go find Alek or Jasmine or even Valentina for that matter please. I will take care of these party crashers.”  
“But-“  
“Paul, take him! Please,” I said, not purposefully attempting to give him serious, no-nonsense puppy eyes. “I really don’t have time to-“  
A hand roughly grabbed my shoulder. I winced involuntarily, knowing that I would wake up with a bruise there.  
“Couldn’t get rid of your dad that easily sweetheart,” the seemingly lead man rumbled into my ear.  
“Oh my god he is so not your dad!” Amy squeaked in surprise as Paul slowly but surely baby-stepped his way towards Brian and me. Come on Paul, I thought. Hurry a bit faster please!  
“Oh!” I scoffed. “Amy, if this guy were my dad I would have to look a lot uglier.” The guy grunted angrily and lifted me up. Pain shot throughout my torso, but I refrained from making it noticeable. “How rude! I could get up on my own daddio. If you want to lose so bad you should have just said so.”  
I could feel my energy quickly draining out of me- I wasn’t sure how many more catchy phrases I could come up with, let alone physically fight. But I had to get Amy and Paul and Brian out of there.  
I’m not going down before they’re safe, I promised myself.  
I shoved down a fit of coughing by jabbing my elbow into the man’s ribs. In his surprise he let go of one of my arms with a grunt, but only tightened his arm on the other. He quickly regained himself and sliced his free arm through the air and on top of my bruising shoulder without mercy. My body flopped against the bottom of the stairs, the polka-dotted-blood-holes suddenly searing like acid. I stumbled back up and furiously cursed the black dots that obscured my vision more severely now.  
I rolled underneath his arm, twisting my wrist so that his bent backwards, and I let my claws loose into his leather jacket. For a humorous second I thought I had gotten myself stuck to him, but then he ripped himself away and let go of my arm to swing both fists in my direction. I ducked. He swung again, this time at my head. I parried. Amy screamed. I was stupid and I looked. Paul had finally decided to listen to me and drag Brian away from the fight but neither of them could move. My mock-dad’s henchmen had taken both Amy and Paul for hostage. Brian’s limp form laid sleeping on the marble flooring that I was sure was as cold as him.  
Amy squealed, unexpectedly kicked her captor and caused him to double over, and she pointed behind me- “CHLOE WATCH OUT!”  
Too late I knew. My hair whipped into my face as I glanced behind me, only to come chest to foot. How did my Mi instincts miss that? And I wasn’t sure how such a thug of a guy had gotten his leg into the air but I couldn’t bother myself with the statistics right then. All of my breath flew out of me and, as I stumbled backwards down and off of the staircase, I was sure I was going to faint. Amy caught me in her arms- everything about me was burning hot. I tried to shake it off but my focus was slipping. I started to slip in Amy’s grip, unable to hold myself up. The thug of a man smirked as he casually drew closer to us.  
“It seems that your Mi friend is about to lose another life- or five,” he said, smiling as if he had made some kind of joke. What a sick person.  
“Y-you know,” I muttered, still winded by the blow. “I am so much better at the before-something-epic phrases then you are.” His smirk disappeared and he snarled.  
Amy dropped me involuntarily, as the henchman she had kicked earlier awoke from his stupor and forced her arms behind her.  
“Chloe! Sorry,” she whimpered.  
“Oh, its all good Amy,” I said as I unsteadily rose to my feet. “Its not like you punched an innocent girl in the shoulder or tried to pulverize my head or, you know, impersonated someone’s long lost father.” I stared at him with cold eyes. “Let’s finish this.”  
“My pleasure.”  
The thug’s arm sailed through the space between us, instinct took over and I lunged to duck. But before his arm hit air, his body crumpled unconscious to the ground. I straightened myself as much as my body would allow, astonished to see Paul holding a bloodied flower pot over his head. He looked down at the thug, a bit more surprised then I’m sure he had intended to be. I couldn’t help but smile- though my dimmed senses interrupted and told me to karate chop next to me. I did. And I looked to see Amy’s captor unmoving on the floor. Not too far behind us I saw Paul’s captor mysteriously in the same state as the others.  
“My hero,” Amy said, clearly shaken. Paul gave her a proud, goofy grin.  
“Gah!”  
“Chloe!”  
I crouched down and pressed my hands to my chest, desperate to clutch away the intense pain. Small drops of blood decorated the polished flooring. “Sorry for that,” I whispered sincerely before coming face to face with it.  
“Oh no you don’t miss Chloe King!” Amy said sternly. “Uh, Paul, get Brian. I’ll get Chloe. We have to get to Alek. Chloe, you can do this. Do not die on me again!”  
“You would say him,” I muttered to the floor, mentally rolling my eyes, which were unfairly heavy and had drooped closed. “I don’t really want to die for a third time, please. Probably the seventh attempt of a time.”  
Somehow, as I passed between a coma and dim consciencness, Amy and Paul had gotten two gravity-restricted bodies into Amy’s Volkswagens. We were already breezing down the darkened and sleep-filled streets of San Francisco by the time I came to for a moment. In the back seat, Amy was putting pressure onto my three bullet wounds. Paul drove up front, and I was confused when Brian, sitting on the passenger’s side, twisted in his seat to give me a reassuring half-smile. My soul felt as if it had been jump-started at the sigh of him- alive- and I attempted to jolt up, but instead of sitting up I convulsed like a dying fish. Not such a smart idea- my insides exploded and I couldn’t help the cry of pain I yelped as Amy calmly shooshed me and told me to lie back down. But I was instantly wired, relieved with disbelief. Brian shook his head, his eyes saying “everything will be ok,” and he reached a gentle hand out towards me. I reached a tentative hand out to touch him, but Amy pushed my arm down. Annoyance flickered across my mind. Why would she keep me down when everything was ok now? I tried to sit again, as if I had forgotten the first attempt, and I received the same results. The pain was too much. His dazzling, lit eyes were the last things I saw before falling into the depths of my agony and back into the abyss of suddenly sweet sleep. 

Chapter 2  
Amy’s scream rang painfully in my ears.  
“Oh my god, you double crosser! You were a totally cute pair with Jasmine but now you just repulse me.”  
“Sorry to be a disappointment.”  
“Amy, Paul . . . C-chloe? Get out of here. Now!”  
“Alek?” I muttered into my chest. I felt someone’s arms wrapped around my waist- probably Amy’s. We stood stricken in the doorway. My headache was starting to subside from all the napping I had accomplished, but my entire body was a wreck still. How long had I been out?  
“What a fantastic day!” I heard Zane chime. I wouldn’t call it fantastic, I thought bitterly. “I got to accomplish the one thing I have been training for my entire life, and I get to kill the Uniter. Won’t the Order shower me with praise?”  
Alek snarled. “You won’t get near her.”  
“What has Zane been training for his entire life?” I whispered wearily. And WHY DOES ZANE WANT TO KILL ME too? Since when did he want to kill me?  
“Get away from her.”  
“Thanks for answering me guys.”  
I opened my eyes in frustration, only to come face to face with Zane’s repulsive smile. A knife glistened in his hands and I shot an arm out to knock it away from him. But he parried just as easily as any Mi would. But my Midar wasn’t beeping, so he couldn’t be! He flipped the knife in his hands, the point staring at my chest with hunger just like Zane’s eyes. Amy tried to jerk me away from him even with her arms exhausted from the carry up to the penthouse.  
“No one else could do it, but I will-“  
Alek wrapped his burly arms around Zane. “No you won’t!” And he pummeled him to the ground with a crushing blow. Zane was on top of his focus though, because he leaped to his feet in an instant and thrust the knife out at Alek, who just barely dodged the blade.  
“For pointers,” I said to Zane, “maybe you don’t want to take the extra second to say something totally unsmooth. You probably would have brutally injured me if you hadn’t. But, oh well. Alek will just have to kick your butt now.”  
I swear I caught the hint of a smirk on Alek’s face. It was good to see in the midst of the chaos.  
But what was even better was the sudden shadow that stifled my light. Brian had taken a step towards the fight, his face in fierce concentration. I didn’t have much time to admire him though, or worry about how I was going to explain all of this or be confused about why he wasn’t freaked out of his mind. Or be stunned about why he wasn’t dead.  
I cringed at the shrill sound of glass shattering. The pounding of bodies against the wood floor shook in my skin.  
“Ok . . .Okay. Chloe, I am going to put you down now-“ Amy gently told me. “-Paul,” she continued as she hauled me over to the closest wall.  
But Paul wasn’t there. In his place stood Brian. Was she confused or something? I wondered.  
I slumped against the wall, unable to sustain myself. Amy straightened herself up, studied Alek and Zane battling against the kitchen counter, and she took a deep readying breath as if she were about to venture into the fight.  
Then she cowered into herself and pushed Brian forward. “Go help him Paul!”  
“Amy, t-hats not Paul,” I whispered hoarsely. But she didn’t hear me. She would figure it out later I guessed.  
I bit down an uncontainable smile as I watched through heavy lashes, a familiar, live face furrow in concentration. I know, wrong time to be utterly flattered by two boys fighting for me, but I couldn’t help the relief at seeing him alive! I felt the guilt wash away from me. He was breathing and everything was going to be ok whether or not it made sense at the moment.  
Brian’s eyes were determined and utterly locked onto Zane’s twisted grin. Finally they were doing something that didn’t involve bashing on each other- Alek and Brian. And they were doing it for me. And they were both alive and functional beings. Or so I thought in the moment.  
The next moment was not as flattering and the smile was wiped off of my face.  
My Mi instincts were pulsing, but I had felt it nonstop since we had entered Valentina’s home and I dismissed it as Zane’s urges to want to kill me. Where was Valentina?  
As a matter of fact, why hasn’t Alek contacted Jasmine yet? I wondered through my rising headache. Maybe he couldn’t. I dug into my jeans pocket, but what I dragged out was no longer my cell phone. I sighed in defeat. So much for calling Jasmine- how am I going to explain this to my mom? My phone had nobly taken a fourth bullet for my hipbone. Thank you, thank you, thank you!  
That was when I noticed the foot attached to a high heel, poking out from the edge of the living room couch.  
“Amy,” I whispered furiously. “Amy!” I attempted to reach for her pants so I could tug at them, but she was too far away. And she was too engrossed in the fighting to recognize my existence.  
I tuned in in time to watch Alek whip his leg behind Zane’s knee. Zane’s leg collapsed and he was forced into a kneeling position. And with his back to the living room, Brian was able to catch him from behind around the neck.  
Both Alek and Brian had suffered some visible heart wrenching blows. I took a mental note to apologize a thousand times to them. The wounds, after all, were because of me. Just watching them exhaust themselves made sleep sound so inviting all of sudden and my eyes, already intensely droopy, began to fall closed.  
No! I scowled myself awake. Can’t fall asleep, Gotta help. However tempting sprawling across the floor for another long, long nap sounded.  
A fresh determination over came me and I mustered enough energy to plop onto my hands and knees and crawl over towards the couch. At least while Zane was occupied I could help somehow. I began to investigate the high-heeled limb, but when the couch had stifled my view before, it didn’t then.  
I held back a gasp. Valentina’s body lay stiffly on the ground.  
“Valentina?” I whispered, careful to avoid letting Zane know where I was.  
Her eyes shot down to look at me, and I jolted in surprise. But why wasn’t the rest of her body moving? I crawled closer to her, seeing the pain inside. I studied her for any wounds but found absolutely none.  
“What happened to you?” I breathed. She looked as if she was about to struggle to tell me, but I hastily added, “No don’t tell me! Just remain calm, unmoving, and- uh-“ that’s when I caught a glimpse of a shimmering twig sticking out of her back. I shuddered- I could deal with a crushing blow, but needles not so much. Gently, I plucked the needle out of Valentina’s back and a remaining drop of acidic liquid leaked onto my pants.  
“Gah!” I yelped, as the liquid burned on my skin. I swatted at my thigh as if I could sweep away the pain. Luckily it was only a drop and the dim sizzle disappeared in seconds. But if Valentina had an inch worth of that stuff in her system, what was going to happen to her?  
I tucked the needled underneath the nearest couch, hoping that I would remember later that it was there. Honestly, I couldn’t afford to forget.  
The couch shook, causing my body to vibrate from the sudden force. I heard grunts of pain, felt Zane’s breath huffing onto my face through the small space between two couches. I knew it was Zane’s because I had to force myself not to gag and make noise. Bad guys always smelt bad.  
Brian was backed up against the wall across from me; his lip was bleeding and one eye was tinted purple but besides being winded he was in one piece. His hands were on his knees, his chest rising and falling as he took massive breaths of air. Amy stood close to him- almost too close I thought protectively- and was dabbing a wet cloth on his busted lip. I shook my head. Amy did not like Brian like that! She was just helping him right? Sure, She thought he was cute but- the couch pushed into my leg and my eyes reverted back to the fight. Zane was on top of Alek. His fists were bearing down on Alek’s battered face like a rock-um-sock-um-robot.  
I had to do something. Sitting there watching Alek get pummeled was not on my list of things to do. “Sorry Valentina,” I whispered. What could I have done just then to help her anyway?  
I jumped over the couch and rolled on top of Zane, who landed on top of Alek with a heavy grunt.  
“CHLOE!” Alek gasped angrily.  
“Sorry! In the moment rescue mission!”  
I rolled again, pulling on Zane’s shirt and dragging him to the ground next to me. He caught me off guard by thrashing his arm into my chest with a sickening thwack.  
“Dammit Chloe!” Alek croaked.  
Those damn black spots exploded in my vision like fireworks. My lungs refused to breathe. I reminded myself of a fish out of water and the thought freaked me out. I didn’t want die again, especially not like this and especially not by Zane’s hand. I clawed Zane’s arm in hopes of contributing at least a little damage to his body and satisfaction seeped into me when he yelped in pain. But it wasn’t enough.  
Zane threw himself on top of me and I couldn’t help but cry out in pain. Blood trailed from my stomach to the floor, forming little puddles of swirling red on the ground. What was up with me bleeding on floors? I was being reminded that I still had a couple of bullets in my system. Great.  
I tried to kick my legs up, to hit him in the back of the head, but my left thigh refused to lift. Panic swept through me. The acid. What was it doing to me? I attempted to kick again, but only my right leg swung into the air with futile determination. The distraction caused me to recognize, too late, Alek and Amy’s cries of exasperation.  
The last thing I saw was Zane’s twisted grin glaring down at me, his fingers aimed at my bullet wounds, and those stupid black spots.  
And then I blacked out. 

Chapter 3  
I woke up to the feel of secure arms wrapped around me. They were warming me up like a blanket, and I snuggled further into the calming human contact as if I couldn’t get enough. I wasn’t the least bit bothered that I had no idea whose chest I was leaning against. I was just too relaxed to care. An image of a familiar face lingered in my mind, but I whisked it away, too content to think and remember who that was.  
I shifted my body and winced involuntarily. The mystery-arms softened their grip, and disappointment flickered inside me. The arms hadn’t hurt me. It was my stomach, which had tightened when I moved. It pulsed with unexpected ferocity.  
I tried to brush the discomfort away by focusing on the sunlight that seeped through my eyelids. Sweet yellow and red colors danced in front of my eyes.  
Then a hand began stroking my hair. And that was all I needed. It was all I could think about. Heck, it was all I wanted to think about. Every brush of skin on skin sent electricity buzzing through me as the steady fingers delicately combed my hair smooth. Safe in these arms, I wanted to sink into deep sleep again. Sleep sounded good.  
My stomach pain turned into a dim heartbeat.  
Where was I? The thought barely concerned me. But I reached out my senses anyway; I listened to birds whistle nearby, I felt a cool wind swirling around my skin, I embraced the heat of another human as it seeped into me, I noticed the cushions soft beneath my body. Already I knew a couple of things: A window was open, I was lying on a couch, and I was perfectly safe. My closed eyelids grew heavier and blackness started to envelope me. I was in a perfect condition to sleep.  
But what was that stupid aching that kept me from slipping away? It felt distant now, but the fact that it existed annoyed me.  
I didn’t dwell on the pain for long before my focus reverted back to the fingers that toyed with my hair. The familiar face appeared in my mind again and I studied it; coarse muddy hair, soft brown eyes, sandy skin . . .  
“Brian,” I muttered, as giddy emotions whorled inside of me. A swell of hope filled my parched lungs. Affection fueled my exhausted limbs. I should have known he was here.  
But I hesitated to move as Brian’s hand stopped stroking my hair. I felt his chest retract from me as if he just realized I was a monster. My body was swept up into an icy vacancy. His arms grew rigid around me.  
Why would Brian shy away from me? Longing festered in my heart, causing it to flutter. My eyes flew open in confusion.  
“Oh no,” I gasped meekly. I had made a big mistake.  
Embarrassment heated my cheeks an ugly tomato red as Alek’s eyes bore down into mine. A harsh countenance overthrew his expression as he tried to mask the hurt he felt from my misjudgment.  
And then I was hit with a flood of memories.  
The realization hit me like a fist. I was frantic as I tried to clamber off of the couch- noting detail for detail as my eyes scanned Valentina’s penthouse; the very place in which Zane was attempting my murder- but I was overcome with nausea. My torso exploded with tear-invoking pain and the world around me started to spin as my head broke out into a headache. I was forced back into Alek’s arms. He didn’t protest. In fact I caught a hint of concern on his face as I lay against him. But Loving Alek didn’t last long.  
“Lie still,” he ordered mercilessly. I obeyed, unwilling to invoke any more pain or anymore of that cold voice.  
I took deep, careful breaths and eventually the nausea slowly subsided. But my head and stomach pounded with a ferocity that was too distracting. I laid my hands on my torso as if my touch could calm the sickness.  
Alek studied me for a moment, then realized he was staring. He suddenly became infatuated with a little ocean blue tulip that sat on the open window. It’s petals danced in the breeze like a ballerina; its leaves jiggled and swayed. I admired the tulip with him, lost in its enchanting power and grace.  
Then the moment flew out the window, taking the grace and serenity along with it. I felt like I had to say something.  
“Alek I-“ I began.  
“Don’t.”  
“But-“  
“Stop.”  
“Just let me-“  
“Quit it.”  
Frustration burned in my veins. I opened my mouth, prepared for another try at an apology and a little thank you.  
“He’s dead and you still love him,” Alek grumbled. The words drooped out of my mouth and flew into silence.  
Panic overwhelmed me.  
Who was dead? My thoughts began to race. I was exasperated by Alek’s calm indifference; his eyes searched the penthouse, carefully avoiding my physical existence.  
“Who’s dead?” I demanded.  
Alek scowled at me. “Amy and Paul are fine if that’s what you mean.”  
“It wasn’t actually.” I felt relief knowing that they were ok. But that calming feeling was separate from my rising anxiety and I said in a dangerous voice, “Alek, who. Is. Dead.”  
My heart began to race. Dread soaked my skin ice cold. Who else could it be, honestly Chloe? The thought festered in my head like a disease. No. No way. I saw him. He had reached his beautiful hand out to me and reassured me with his beautiful eyes.  
Upon feeling my reaction Alek’s face melted into deep concern. His eyes bore into mine with an intensity that made me look down at my shaky hands. He momentarily forgot his anger.  
“Chloe-“ he said softly, seriously.  
“Just tell me. Say it,” I urged. I needed him to say it or else it couldn’t be real.  
His eyes flicked over the other couch for half a second. But in that half a second I caught him in the act. Slowly, I started to twist around in Alek’s lap, but before my eyes could discover what lay on the other couch, Alek’s warm hand cupped my cheek and he pulled my head back to face his. His touch was warm, comforting on my skin. No, no Chloe, I thought frantically. Can’t have thoughts like that, not right now. Not when-  
“Why torture yourself?” He whispered.  
Oh god. I knew it.  
“B-but he was here,” I stuttered. My mind began racing a million miles. “I saw him, I swear to god Alek he was here fighting besides you in the kitchen. I watched you two work together to beat the crap out of Zane, I watched you, and then I found Valentina and Amy was there and Paul was-“ my throat grew dry. “He wasn’t . . . “  
“Chloe,” disbelief saturated Alek’s voice. “Paul was fighting by my side. Poorly might I add, he-“  
Tears welded in my eyes. Alek’s insult died in his throat. I knew he was going to attempt to sooth me, but nothing could possibly ease this pain as a hole was being burned through my heart.  
He sighed and remained silent for a moment. I watched his brows pulled together in thought, his eyes shift back and forward as if they were reading an invisible book. My eyes fell to his light pink lips and how they were-  
Damn it Chloe, I scowled inwardly. Are you serious? I was ready to cry a river and I was still having thoughts about Alek? How wrong was I.  
“It sounds like you were hallucinating Chloe,” Alek said after a while. “Between the bullets and the acid . . . . you endured a lot of pain.” I swear I heard admiration peeking through Alek’s words, but I was too preoccupied to be grateful, as reality grew fuzzy. All thoughts about Alek dissipated.  
I had been hallucinating the whole time. He was dead this whole time. I really was holding his lifeless, cold body in my arms when sitting on the stairs. Brian was dead.  
At the mention of his name tears swelled in my throat and I pressed my face against Alek’s shoulder hoping I could hide my emotions. What else wasn’t real? The thought made a shiver flow through me. Was Valentina really paralyzed? Did Zane really want to kill me?  
As if he read my thoughts, Alek said, “If you’re wondering, Valentina was on her death bed. But she’s ok now, resting. I’ll explain later. Jasmine on the other hand . . . “ uncertainty cut off his sentence. I could tell he was worried, so I didn’t press him for answers. The subject appeared tense.  
I did lift my head up though, with tears staining my dirty cheeks, finding that Alek’s face was terribly close to mine. He reached a hand out as if he were going to brush the tears off of my face, but he ended up combing his fingers through his hair instead. No, that wasn’t disappointment that flickered through me. Oh who was I kidding? It so was disappointment.  
“And Zane, did he-“  
A dark shadowed crossed over Alek’s features. “Yes,” he said flatly. “Zane tried to kill you.”  
“Did he?”  
“No.”  
“Did you-“  
“He got away.”  
“Oh.”  
I slumped against the couch, trying to rely more on myself then Alek. I needed to get away from him, at least for now.  
Relief sunk into me like lotion. I didn’t lose another life.  
“Thank you,” I said quietly. Alek grunted in response, clearly still hurt that I had mistaken his identity. How badly had that hurt Alek? I was scared to find out.  
I hugged a couch pillow tightly to my chest, conscience that Brian’s stiff body was behind me; conscience that Zane was still out in the world. I took in a deep shuddering breath, preparing to steady myself. I didn’t have time to break down or worry about boys, not when people were still looking to murder me and harm my friends. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I ditched Brian so quickly just because he was dead? I suppressed a shiver. God I had to get myself together. I knew I was stronger than this.  
“Chloe, you don’t have to hide your emotions in front of m-“  
The front door creaked. Our heads turned sharply to stare at the mundane piece of wood. My Mi instincts were still weak, but I forced them to be alert. I could feel my energy being drained out of me. Alek’s muscles tensed beneath me.  
The door shuttered open and a shadow flew across the ground, causing me to flinch in response. Upon seeing my reaction, Alek wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body tight against his as if he could protect me while sitting down. His embrace felt so natural. I mentally shook myself. I was a terrible person, realizing that I was in love with a dead person and suddenly falling for someone else a day later. Maybe more than a day. How long had I been out?  
“CHLOE YOUR AWAKE!!”  
The words shattered through my thoughts like a bullet and I jutted as if Amy could read my guilty thoughts. Alek’s arms jolted away from me and I scrambled off of his lap and onto the couch cushion next to him, smoothing down my hair and trying to control my cheeks. I turned around to face the door, desperate to ignore the second couch and I couldn’t contain my smile as my best friend’s bright face appeared from behind the door. Her arms reminded me of cloths racks, covered with four bags each of groceries. Paul entered the penthouse behind her, crinkling wildly as the plastic bags on his arms shifted around.  
“Since when did you grocery shop?” I asked skeptically.  
“Since now,” Amy stated proudly. Her eyes glazed over the second couch. “We kind of ate Valentina’s entire fridge,” she continued happily, as she set the bags onto the kitchen counter with a heavy thud. “So we had to go shopping for more.”  
I shot a look to Alek. “How long have I been out exactly?”  
“Three days,” he replied tersely. All of sudden he wasn’t able to look at me again. I gave an inward sigh. I’m sorry.  
“Three days? That’s not too bad.”  
“Always the optimist Chloe,” Amy chimed.  
And then she burst, unable to control herself as she waddled over to me and wrapped her arms around me like I was a gift. I was suffocating a bit as my face pressed into her chest, but it was a soothing sort of suffocating-hug. “How are you feeling?”  
Paul began to unsheathe the goods, revealing canned vegetables and bags of chicken nuggets. I smiled and rolled my eyes. I should have known.  
“Uh . . . “ how did I feel? Vulnerable, disoriented, conflicted, empty, crowded, lost, weak. The list went on.  
“Honestly,” I ended up replying. “I have no idea.”  
“Well, that’s ok for now.”  
“Ya. For now.” But what about later when questions needed to be answered and fights needed to be won?  
I found myself unconsciencly squishing my stomach, trailing over the places where the bullets hit.  
“Uh are the bullets still inside of me?” That would explain why I continued to hurt instead of heal like normal Mi’s.  
“No,” Alek muttered. Huh. “I took them out. Glad you don’t remember that.”  
“Don’t remember what exactly?” I asked skeptically. Everyone’s expressions turned grim, distant as they recalled what happened while I was asleep.  
“You, like, didn’t stop screaming,” Amy said with a shutter. “It was pretty awful.”  
“Well, if you don’t remember anything that’s great,” Paul chimed in. “Because man, when Alek laid you across the kitchen counter Amy and I had to hold you down and it was-“  
“Paul,” Amy scowled. “Be a little more sensitive.”  
Paul shrugged. “Sorry.”  
“Ouch,” I whispered, imaging the anguish not only I had gone through but everybody had. “I’m sorry for the trouble I cau-“  
“Damn it Chloe,” Alek said in exasperation. Everyone fell silent at the sudden outburst. “This is what friends do. Did you expect us to just sit there and watch you die again and then maybe again until all of your lives were lost and the order took over?”  
He didn’t wait for a response. Instead he propelled off of the couch in a huff and stormed out of the room. I stared at the doorway he disappeared through.  
“Uh, what was that about?” Amy asked. “Details, now.”  
“I- it’s- uh-“ but I didn’t feel like explaining.  
I wasn’t quite sure what I was explaining. “Later,” I said distractedly. “Did you happen to grab drugs or something?” My entire self was aching.  
“I’ve got your back girl.”  
She snatched a bottle of Advil from the counter and tossed it to me. But the bottle slipped right through my fingers and plopped down onto the couch with a soft rattle. I stared at it. How did I miss that? I should have been able to lunge and snatch a fly out of the air for crying out loud. I was Mi. These kinds of things just didn’t happen.  
“It happens to the best of us,” Amy offered.  
I grabbed the bottle and unhinged it, popping a couple pills into my mouth before saying, “I guess.”  
“Do you want to help make lunch?” Amy asked. I glanced at her, grateful for something as mundane as cooking. But I caught her eyes flicker to look at the other couch again. She shifted uneasily when she noticed me staring at her.  
I shook my head to clear myself of the surreal feeling that was starting to creep in. “Ya, totally. Anything to get me off my butt and away from . . . “  
“Ya, I gotcha ya.” Amy’s features softened and she held her hand out to help me up. I took it, soaking up my best friend’s strength and compassion.  
I felt like the bullets were still squirming in my stomach and I resisted the urge to throw up as I padded to the kitchen where Paul was filling up a pot of water.  
Be strong Chloe, I reminded myself. But I felt like my shields were snapping in half and I wasn’t quite sure how to deal.  
“Ya, cooking will be good for me,” I said to no one no in particular, hoping that I could somehow super glue myself back together.  
I prayed that I wouldn’t fall a part before I found the glue. 

hapter 4

I stared at the greasy stove, my back to the living room, clutching a bowl of Mac 'n' Cheese in one hand and a cup of water in the other. Once again I was numb, petrified by my thoughts and what lay behind me.

I wasn't sure I'd be able sit at the dining room table, let alone face the opposite direction. I had woken up out of my stupor two days ago and still I didn't believe that I would have been able to get back up if I took a good look at Brian's body. Not yet.

In a day, I thought to myself. Just give yourself this last day to recover and then you'll be ok and you can see him. And everything will be ok. . . . except for the fact that Alek was pissed at me andZane was probably preparing another attack and I had said the same exact thing yesterday.

"Paul's waiting for me," Amy chimed next to me, holding her portion of Mac 'n' cheese along with her boyfriends. I shook my body, pulling my gaze away from the burner and away from my thoughts. It was dangerous for me to be thinking too much. My limbs felt they were flaking into dust. Soon, I figured, I would be a pile of used glue.

"Will you be ok?" Amy asked worriedly. "We won't be long. We just have to, well, explain in person to our parents why we have been absent from school and such. Phone calls weren't enough."

I shrugged and mustered up a smile. But Amy didn't look convinced.

"Ya I'll be ok," I replied.

Then my mothers face appeared in my mind and I squirmed uneasily.

Amy set a gentle hand on my shoulder, holding onto me like I was about to lose balance. But both my feet were steadily on the ground.

"We'll talk to her for you," she said softly. "Alek, Paul, and I spent all night trying to figure out what to tell them. It should be convincing enough." What else had I missed last night?

"Maybe I should-"

"No. We'll do it," Amy interrupted firmly.

"My mom's not going to believe you Amy, even if she is fond of you. She'll think I died or that I'm lying to her."

"Well, we are lying to her."

"Not helping."

"Sorry."

She rubbed my shoulder for a moment and added, "Are you sure you want to be here by yourself?"  
I raked my fingers through my grimy hair. God I needed a shower.

"Thanks for the concern, but I promise I'll be fine. Honestly, I should just be coming with you-"

"No. Stay here. Get some more rest and try to get your strength up."

Before someone else tried to kill me, I knew she was thinking.

I sighed, conscious that Amy wasn't going to let me win.

"Do what you can. But please, try to keep the emotional hurt to a minimal. I've screwed mom over enough with all this Mi stuff."

Amy nodded and gave me a light squeeze on my arm. "Will do."

I pretended I didn't notice her concerned eyes following me as she walked out the front door.

She glanced at me one last time before disappearing behind the wood, and then Brian and I were alone.

There was no way I was staying in that house any longer, so I kept my head stiffly in front of me as I walked, conscience of Brian's body on the couch. My eyes were focused on the open glass doors that led to a clean little balcony.

Tomorrow, I reminded myself. Officially take care of life tomorrow.

The vibrancy of the sun stole my attention as I took a step away from the penthouse. Relief eased into my veins at the feel of the warm rays on my skin. I took a deep breath of salty San Francisco air, letting it tangle in my uncombed hair.

I was grateful to be alone.

Ever since I woke up someone was by my side, hovering over me like I was a dam ready to crack and flood. The idea that everybody expected me to break convinced me that I was going to.

But now that everyone was gone, I felt a heavy release- a feeling of freedom- in my mind.

For the past two days I had been napping, mostly, with Amy and Paul catering to my every unasked for need. They were almost suffocating with their concern, but the more I protested the more they loomed around me.

I was done with sleeping and being babied.

The rest was obviously good for me, because my stomach was spotted with ghastly bruises instead of bullet gashes now, but I had done so much of it for a week that the urge to do something other than sit in the penthouse thrummed to life inside of me.

I was healing slowly for MI standards but healing non-the less.

I set my lunch down on a little glass table and settled on the creamy swing chair. The chair swayed carefully back and forward, soothing my simmering emotions. My fingers toyed unconsciously with the skin on my stomach.

I wasn't used to this, all of this emotion. Sure I was a teenage girl but even high school didn't require so many diverse and powerful feelings. All I had to focus on was passing chemistry, getting a date for Friday nights, and not losing my hundred-dollar calculator. Now . . . now I had to worry about not hurting everyone I love, about surviving another day, about defeating the order and keeping my head together, about keeping my mom oblivious, about assuring everyone I was ok. . About Alek and Brian.

I picked my fork up, embracing the cool that spread through my fingers, but the concept of eating seemed useless all of sudden. I tapped the metal against the bowl with a shrill clinking. I kept my focus centered on the noise, trying to find consistency in my life. It seemed to be the only constant, stable thing in my existence at the moment.

The sudden urge to crawl into my mom's arms and cry like a baby overwhelmed me. I wanted her comfort, her reassurance; I wanted to be told that everything was ok. I wiped at my eyes in frustration, feeling the tears begin to swell.

But instead of letting it all go, I glued the dam back together to hold my emotions in check.

How long would I be forced to shove away these tears and muster up strength? I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep pushing these emotions down. Soon enough my internal bucket was going to overflow and when it did, I knew I wasn't going to be able to control myself even in the worst of situations.

I was like a battery destined to be tossed into the dank abyss of a trashcan, all because I kept using my emergency power instead of giving myself time to recharge.

I didn't want to be thrown into a trashcan.

I frowned.

Was I going to have to fight for my life until I died by the hand of exhaustion, of natural cause, of another person? Was I capable enough to be the Uniter? How many people would have to die for me until I was killed or finally safe? How many people would I let down if I simply disappeared and ran away? Did I want to run away?

I tossed my fork into the bowl with a frustrated clang. God, When did I become so pessimistic? The feeling kept me on edge.

I hugged my knees to my chest as if I could protect myself from myself. And Zane. And the world. When did I gain so many enemies?

I took a steadying breath and rolled my shoulders a couple of times. I knew I was stronger than this. Sure a lot of crap had happened in the past few days and an endless list of questions was piling up unanswered, but I was Chloe King. I was capable of getting over the worst of life so I could keep moving forward.

Hope flickered in my mind and I closed my eyes, embracing the world that surrounded me.

I welcomed meditation; it sounded like the perfect remedy.

Car motors thrummed across the streets below me, exhaust filled the air with invisible pollution, music traveled through the wind . . .

I pictured an array of people hurrying to their next destination, worrying about the next solvable problem.

Little did they know that there was a word beyond their mundane one: my world.

The air felt sweeter as birds whistled nearby. The breeze felt like a fresh spray of water on my skin. The rhythm of the chair's swaying soothed me like my mothers voice.

Life was suddenly conquerable.

My jeans pocket vibrated.

Then again relaxation and confidence never lasted very long even when I believed I was human.

I dug Valentina's phone out of my pants; since mine was destroyed Alek insisted on letting me use it just in case something happened while people were running errands. That was all the contact we really had for two days.

The quaked violently in my hand as the word "Amy" glowing brightly on the screen.

I couldn't avoid this call, though the thought was tempting.

"Hello Amy."

"Chloe! Hey!"

"Is something wrong?"

"What? No way, I was just calling to check up on you." I could hear her VW rumbling in the background. Amy must have been driving to her house still.

"You left five minutes ago."

"Seven actually."

"Well I'm fine, thanks for calling! Bye-"

"Wait!" I slumped in my seat.

"Yes?"

"Did you eat your lunch yet?"

I glanced at my untouched Mac 'n' Cheese. "Yes," I said carefully.

"Chloe you need to eat!"

"How did you know I was lying?"

"I'm your best friend. Now eat."

"Yes mother."

"I'm not kidding."

"I know."

"Good."

"good."

"I won't be long."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"By mom."

"Bye by sweetie."

I hung up the phone.

God I loved her, even if she was causing a layer of annoyance to hover on my skin.

I leaned against the swing chair with a sigh, tapping my foot against the ground to rock it back and forward.

I let my eyelids fall closed again.

Hopefully Amy wouldn't call for another thirty minutes.

Chapter 5  
“What are you thinking about?”  
Zane?  
A shiver vibrated through my body.  
What the hell was he doing here? He came back to kill me, to taunt me, to kidnap me?  
Meditation time was over.  
My eyes shot open and my fists were clenched, readying to defend myself against whatever crap he had for me. To let all of my emotions out on Zane, God that sounded inviting, to prove to myself- to everyone- that I had the strength to handle not only me but the world surrounding me as well. Anticipation fueled my need to strike Zane in the face.  
But when my vision came into focus, I met disappointment and not Zane’s twisted grin. Guilt washed through me, overwhelming the anger that was rising inside of me.  
Alek was leaning against a glass door with his arms crossed firmly over his chest.  
I had mistaken him again. I had mistaken Alek for Zane this time. Was my brain really as screwed up as people acted like it was?  
I crossed my legs Indian style and sat up straight, as if I could assert myself more clearly with proper posture, pretending I hadn’t been ready to beat Alek’s ass.  
“What are you thinking about?” He asked again. Was he ignoring the fact that my fists were aimed for his head, or did he not notice that second of panic in me?  
“Just thinking,” I replied tersely.  
Alek smirked, rolled his eyes, and turned his head to look out at the stretch of city that surrounded us. “Alright.”  
“Alright.” I echoed.  
The flame of anger I had been stoking was flickering with energy.  
What gave him the right to know my thoughts anyway? I wondered defensively. And why did this whole issue have to be my fault only? He seriously had to come and ruin my instant of meditation . . . I huffed.  
I checked Valentina’s phone. I had made it thirty-one minutes without Amy calling me, without the world disturbing my thoughts.  
Well, at least it was longer than I had anticipated.  
An uncomfortable silence replaced my blissful moment of calm, and I was hit with the sudden urge to get up and take action. As long as it was helpful, distracting, and away from Alek, I was willing to do it. He was a tourist waiting for my dam to break anyway.  
A desperate idea popped into my head.  
Did Brian’s dad know his son was dead? A twinge of guilt buzzed in my chest. Would I even want to try and talk to him? God it was better than sitting here waiting for someone to speak. What was there to say between us anyway? I’m sorry that I have the same feelings for you, Alek, as I do for a dead human.  
That would totally work out, I thought sarcastically.  
Failing to ignore Alek’s presence, I stood up.  
In response, he pushed himself off of the wall and stiffened in front of the doorway, blocking my path like a sphinx waiting for me to challenge him.  
Grow up, I thought moodily.  
“Open sesame.” I ordered aloud.  
Alek’s face remained impassive.  
“Fine.” I said in exasperation. “Chocolate milk.”  
His muscles barely twitched.  
“Alek,” I sighed while trying to push past him. But, with arms still crossed, he flexed his muscles and closed the gaps between him and the door, which I had hopes of squeezing through. “Please let me through.”  
I waited a second.  
When he didn’t yield, I crossed my arms over my chest to mirror him.  
“What do you want from me?” The words came out harsher than I initially intended, but the harshness felt welcoming and strong on my lips. Alek’s eyes bore into me for an agonizing moment, scrutinizing me in silence. I stood my ground, staring back at him, unsure of what was going through his head.  
“I can wait here all da-“  
Alek’s hand cupped my cheek and without hesitation his lips were on mine, muffling the words that were ready on my mouth.  
I yelped in surprise.  
Vulnerable feelings exploded inside of me like a snowstorm, restricting my thoughts. My emotions were cold as they rushed through my veins but his lips were warm against mine, delicate, as he dared to kiss away the ice and bewilderment.  
I put my hand on his chest, a brutal protest rising in my muscles, but instead of pushing him away my skin melted into his V-neck and stayed still.  
What was I doing? I was insane.  
And yet I didn’t want to stop.  
“I want,” he whispered onto my lips. “I want to make you ok again,”  
I couldn’t control the shiver of longing, of compassion, that latched onto me.  
This harsh mi warrior was suddenly a vulnerable lover.  
Vulnerable. That was the perfect word to describe the way his lips caressed mine, as if he were pouring himself into me. I eagerly returned the devotion, letting the feelings of depression and frustration and weakness flow from me to him. I felt ok for the first time in a while. God, I was better than ok. Alek had chosen to trust me with his quiet fears and for some reason I trusted him with mine. Satisfaction seeped into me.  
My eyes fluttered open out of impulse and I smiled.  
But horror was slowly, subconsciously rising inside of me as my gaze focused on something in the penthouse. Behind the window, laying limply on a couch . . . It looked like a foot.  
Oh no.  
Reality swept through me, leaving all chill and no warmth. My insides were stripped of desire and peace.  
I gasped and hauled myself away from Alek, not giving him time to process what was happening. My lips froze the instant I pulled away.  
He was so taken aback that when I tried to shove him aside, I succeeded, stumbling into the house so that I could get away from him.  
Not even the homeliness of shelter could cease my bodies shaking.  
“Chloe-“ his voice was strained as he flipped around to look at me. His eyes were clouded with confusion. Confusion about why I pulled away? Or confusion about what he just did to me?  
My head was swimming. To be in Alek’s embrace. . . That was all I wanted. But guilt tainted my mind, reminding me that I wasn’t the type of person to forget about someone just because they were dead. Or maybe I was. I had just kissed Alek hadn’t I?  
What kind of person was I really?  
“Chloe.” Upon seeing my internal struggles his shields shot up. His eyes became solid, hardening with defense and frustration. I had caused that.  
Shit, he was causing my cheeks to burn and my eyes to blur.  
Alek took a step towards me.  
“Stop.” I ordered, before he could get any closer.  
His body grew stiff and yet he raised a curious eyebrow. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to control myself if he got too close. I think he knew it too.  
“So,” I began conversationally.  
I stared at the floorboards on the ground, trying to ignore Brian’s presence intruding on Alek and my intimate conversation.  
“We should . . . uh, figure this out.”  
“Figure what out?” The emotion in Alek’s voice was shut off, replaced by a warrior-like apathy.  
“Oh do not pull that crap with me Alek.” I was the complete opposite, as desperation bled into my words.  
Jasmine had warned me not to hurt Alek, and yet Alek was digging a hole in my heart.  
This was too much.  
“What crap?” God his accent was sexy.  
“Everything! I-“  
I paused. A rant was prepared to burst from my lips.  
But I knew that the emotion that was going to come out of my mouth wasn’t just about Alek.  
I forced myself to compress my feelings and shove them into the pit of my stomach again. My stomach was beginning to feel full. Bile rose in my throat.  
I shook my head in an attempt to compose myself.  
I refused to crack in front of him.  
“What is it Chloe?” Alek demanded. “What’s wrong? I understand that you have devotions to this dead human, but he’s gone. He’s gone.” Alek strode over to me, grabbed my shoulders with shaky hands, and he twirled me around. My eyes fell upon Brian’s rigid body limp on the couch. I was finally staring his chalky body in the face.  
“Look.” Alek demanded. “Look. Face this terror Chloe. You’re going to have to move on someday. I’m here for you and whatever guilt you feel for leaving him behind, let it go. Don’t you think Brian would want you to keep living your life? Not stuck to his nonexistent soul like some slave? If not, he’s a selfish bastard. Look at what is happening to you? You’re sinking into yourself Chloe, building up a resistance that is ready to break any minute.”  
“Don’t talk about him like that,” I shot, whirling around to meet his eye. My mind was beginning to race at an impeccable speed. “Brian is a good person.”  
“I never said he wasn-“  
“And why is everyone assuming that I’m going to break down?” I interrupted. “Does anyone believe that I’m strong enough to survive this life? Honestly, Paul and Amy and you are all acting like I’m losing a battle with terminal cancer when I’m simply trying to cope with grief. I can do this. Grieving is a natural process for any huma- for any living being. I appreciate your concern, but I’m not going to fall. I’m fine. I’m fine. I’ll be ok eventually. I’ll be-“  
“I believe you’re strong enough.” His voice had softened to a near whisper. Alek’s eyes were staring into mine, and his breath was moist on my face. I could tell he meant what he said.  
He delicately tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, revealing my heated cheeks.  
I wasn’t used to Alek’s softness. I had known it was there, but witnessing his compassion first hand was enchanting.  
“I have never doubted your strength Chloe. You’re the stronger person I know.”  
He paused; then continued quietly, “I want to be here for you. Let me.”  
I wanted that. What teenage girl didn’t? I wanted my long-lost prince charming to be there for me, to keep me safe and see me when I was vulnerable. I wanted to help him too, to make him realize strengths about him he never knew. But if I let my guard down now, would I be able to pick it back up later? And if I let my guard down to Alek, would I be making a mistake for the future? I didn’t want to have to rely on someone, especially when the Order was coming after me. I needed to be strong enough to fight for myself, to defend those I loved.  
“Unless you don’t want-“ Alek began uncertainty. His shields were slowly rising again.  
I pressed a finger to his lips, and pursed mine in concentration, daring him to keep his shields down for me until I could sort my thoughts out. He obliged; his eyes remained a liquid brown. His eyes were sweet like hot chocolate.  
I glanced back at Brian. Alek was so right about everything, and yet he was so wrong. “I do . . . want” I said carefully.  
But I didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t feel easy to say that I wanted to be with Alek, and yet I really did. But were my feelings based off of loneliness? Depression? Reality? He released my arms and took a step back.  
Then he took in a deep, readying breath. “I think. .Chloe I think I lo-  
He paused and cocked his head to the side. “Did you hear that?”  
My guards flew up. “No. Hear wha-“  
“Chloe.” The voice was a dim whisper.  
My body stiffened.  
Oh God, someone was in the house.  
The fact that, until now, Alek and I didn’t pick up with our senses a third person in the room unnerved me. Our emotions were getting in the way of survival.  
“Hello?” I muttered tersely.  
No response.  
“I don’t think the person will respond to you, especially if they want to kill you Chloe.  
“Doesn’t hurt to try.”  
“It could.”  
Alek gently pushed me behind his back. A protective air overthrew him as he searched for the mysterious threat. Last moments sentiments were forgotten. The Mi warrior was back.  
“Reveal yourself and we won’t hurt you as brutally,” He demanded.  
“That’s any better?” I mumbled.  
I shrugged away from Alek’s grip, determined to hold my own if someone was here to get me. I needed to transform into a Mi warrior as well. There wasn’t time for me to be a damsel in distress. My senses pulsed with unused energy.  
“Reveal yourself,” I repeated, studying the balcony for an intruder. But nothing moved outside except for the birds.  
I peered into the hallway that led to the bedrooms where Valentina and Jasmine were. But the only thing moving was a shadow dancing across the wall because of the hall light.  
“Chloe.”  
“What?”  
“Chloe.”  
“Alek what-“  
He twirled me around so that I was facing the living room.  
I was facing the two couches.  
And what I saw caused my head begin to spin.

Chapter 6  
Brian’s dead body gasped, gulping for air as if to fill his parched lungs. His chest thrust into the air and then flopped back against the couch like a fish out of water.  
My knees threatened to buckle and I was grateful when Alek snatched my elbow to prevent me from tumbling to the ground.  
Brian’s previously ashen skin slowly filled with color, as if a make-up artist had touched it up for a movie scene.  
“Chloe?” Brian wheezed. He looked like he was suffocating.  
I started for him, but Alek wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me against him and away from the living human that sat before me.  
“Don’t Chloe,” he ordered as I struggled in his grasp. “What if it’s a trap? What if Zane or-“  
“A trap?” I knew Alek was restraining me for more reasons than that. “He may be dying again. What if it’s not a trap? Let me go Alek! I have to help him. He can’t die again because of me!”  
But, even as he hesitated because of my last comment, Alek refused to release me.  
Brian shrugged into a sitting position on the couch coughing into his hands. His eyes blinked incessantly, as if he were trying to clear a fog in his vision. His hair was tasseled as if he had taken a long nap; his outstretched legs were flexing and bending to rid themselves of aching. His chest rose and fell with each heaving breath.  
Shit. An icy chill swept through me. Was I hallucinating again? My fingers toyed with my stomach subconsciously.  
No, Alek obviously saw what I saw.  
I searched Alek for answers, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Brian even as he restricted me against him. The blood had drained from Alek’s face, whether out of horror or annoyance I wasn’t quite sure.  
“Do you see-“ he began.  
“Yup. I’m not hallucinating?”  
I had to ask.  
“Nope.”  
“How do you suppose-?”  
“I haven’t the slightest idea.”  
“Does this happen-“  
“Never.”  
Upon hearing our voices, Brian glanced in our direction. A dim smile played at his lips when he registered it was me.  
His coughing had reached its peak, and was beginning to subside.  
Was this the effect of reawakening from death? I wondered.  
After an uncertain moment, sensing relative safety, Alek released me.  
But I was petrified, unable to move even if I wanted to. I remained by his side. And as stiff and reserved as his body had become, he remained by mine.  
“Wow my head,” Brian croaked. He began massaging his temples, trying to rid his brain of an oncoming headache.  
“Brian?” I whispered. How was this possible? Mi kisses always resulted in certain death to humans. Certain death was defined as sleeping for eternity with no breathing, talking, or blinking involved. And yet here Brian was doing all three.  
He was alive. Then dead. Alive by hallucination. Then dead again. Now alive.  
My emotions felt scattered to the point of causing a stomachache.  
And what made it worse was that not only was I feeling the anguish of murdering him, but also before this whole endeavor existed, Brian hated me because I had gotten caught kissing Alek. . And I had just done it again whether Brian’s eyes were open or not.  
I was torn from my thoughts at the sound of a vicious cough attack and found Brian’s gaze on me.  
Well, he was alive and he was himself.  
So far.  
I wanted to believe that that was all that mattered, but there was more to the situation than simple affections.  
My eyes flickered to Alek.  
“Man I feel like I just climbed a ten thousand foot mountain. Shit,” Brian mumbled.  
He tried to stand up, to be on my and Alek’s level, but his wobbly legs forced him back onto the couch. He looked at his legs in confusion, like they were supposed to do what they were told no matter what. But not moving for a week could do a lot to a person.  
He took in a deep, rejuvenating breath to try and stable himself.  
“God Chloe its so good to know your alive.” Relief was evident in his every fiber. God its so good to know your alive too, I thought wearily. And it’s beyond utterly bizarre.  
“Alive?” Alek asked skeptically, taken aback and pissed that his competitor was breathing again. “Why wouldn’t she be- oh.” A shadow passed over his face as he recalled the moment he extracted bullets from my torso.  
Brian’s expression hardened and his body grew rigid at the sight of Alek. It was if he was noticing him for the first time. Maybe he was. “What is he doing here?”  
“This is my house,” Alek lied flatly. “Welcome I guess.”  
I gave an inward sigh.  
“Why am I at his house? Are we still in San Francisco? Chloe, why are you standing there like nothing has happened to you? Shit, we need to make a police report-“ Brian tried to stand up again, but Alek mercilessly forced him to sit.  
“Lay off me man,” Brian barked. Unresolved loathing was vibrating in the air between them.  
“Brian,” I said tentatively, hoping Alek would could keep his head and avoid a battle. “You were de-“  
“Knocked out by a couple of bastards who were trying to steal from the museum you took Chloe to,” Alek interrupted crudely, not hiding the accusation in his voice.  
“Chloe can speak for herself,” Brian shot. Alek’s muscles tensed and his eyes narrowed.  
“Ya, I know that pretty well thanks. As I was saying, we brought you back to my place for safety. Calling the police was unnecessary because by the time I came, the culprits were gone and there’s nothing they could have done about it.”  
Brian didn’t look pleased at the idea of me having made Alek my first choice to call. I gave Alek a reproachful look.  
His eyes, now heavily guarded, responded slyly: He’s a human.  
As if that explained anything.  
I rolled my eyes, begging him to keep his cool.  
He took a step away from Brian and folded his hands behind his back, proving his loyalty to me.  
“Gone? So what? All you had to do was call the damn hospital to help Chloe’s wounds and leave it to the police to catch the-“ I wanted to shrink under Brian’s suddenly intense gaze. “Chloe why aren’t you at a hospital? Why aren’t you in a bed right now recovering from gun shot wounds?”  
“Gun shot wounds? Brian I never-“ but the lie was failing me. So was the glue holding my pieces together.  
Tears of frustration welded in my eyes. Be strong Chloe, I reminded myself.  
“You were hallucinating,” Alek recovered. “They conked you on the head pretty badly. Just on the way here we had to convince you that Amy isn’t an alien. You nearly tackled her dead. So I would like a thank you in the near future.”  
Over dramatic? I eyed Alek. He smirked in response.  
“Fuck I’m confused,” Brian muttered.  
“Just rest Brian. That’s all you can do for now,” I offered. Guilt was hammering into my chest like a nail. I didn’t want to lie. I was sick of lying. But it seemed like our only choice. And if lying got Alek and Brian away from each other faster, I almost welcomed it.  
“You’re telling me to go to sleep? After we just witnessed a robbery and were assaulted, are you nuts? Chloe you can’t be siding with this lunatic?”  
“Oh get over it. Chloe, come with me.”  
When a protest sprang to my lips Alek added in a whisper, “You look faint. Are you ok?”  
I felt faint.  
I guess I wasn’t the best at hiding my emotions.  
“Ok ya I’ll walk with you,” I said, avoiding Alek’s question. I turned to Brian, unsure if I wanted to jump into his arms or run away.  
Feeling Alek’s presence beside me though caused me to feel uncomfortable. “Get some rest. It’ll be ok,” I said. “We can go over what happened later and decide from there if we need to do something about it. But right now, the chances of action are slim. You’ve been out a long time, so someone has bound to notice something went wrong.”  
Brian sighed, accepting that he lost the battle but discontent with the results.  
“Chloe,” he said softly, intensely. “How do you expect me to believe you after you broke my trust?”  
I felt an invisible hammer slam into the nail that had been poking at my heart.  
“I- I don’t expect you to.  
Unsettled, but unsure of what to say, Brian leaned back into the couch and stared at the wall in front of him with a thoughtful expression.  
The conversation was over for now. 

 

Chapter 7  
“This is impossible,” Alek said as he clicked the front door shut. He pressed his back against it and stared at the cream colored wall ahead of him. He raked a hand through his course hair. “We need Valentina. She’ll have answers.”  
“Has she woken up yet?” I inquired. “How’s Jas-“  
“-Valentina should come to any day now.”  
“And you know that how?”  
“Because I’ve seen the dart Zane shot her with. Most don’t survive from its poison but considering we found her before it took over her brain, we had barely enough time to purge her blood.”  
A memory flashed across Alek’s face.  
A memory of helping Valentina, or was it of another time he had encountered the poisonous dart?  
I began to wonder.  
He had saved my and Valentina’s life that night. What else had he done that I didn’t know about?  
But I didn’t have time for extra pondering I had to remind myself.  
I started to pace the apartment building hallway, scuffing my bare feet on the dirt-red vintage carpet. I glanced in both directions. A stretch of hall extended further than my eyes could see . . . .  
And Alek and I were not alone.  
An elderly woman in a leaf green hand-knit sweater was waddling away from us, peering at the apartment numbers that were pinned to the doors as if she were looking for someone or she had forgotten where she lived. As if she felt me staring, the woman looked behind her questionably and, upon seeing me, smiled sweetly. I smiled back, grateful for her kindness. She clutched her drawstring purse tighter in her hands and waddled on down the hall.  
Alek kept his eyes trained ahead of him, seeing past me whenever I paced by.  
“Alright,” I said, keeping my voice tight and low. “Alright, alright, alright. Somehow Brian is alive-“ just saying that phrase caused dread and excitement to explode inside of me like fireworks, and in that instant I was back into focus “-SO, why? How?”  
“You’re accepting this quite well,” Alek observed tartly.  
I knew that if I didn’t force myself to, the results would be catastrophic.  
“You’re not,” I replied.  
He opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again.  
He pursed his lips and pressed his cheek against the door so he could stare down the serene hallway, away from me but where the woman continued her hunt. I pretended not to notice.  
“Maybe he’s a zombie,” he said finally, crossing his arms protectively over his chest.  
“A hybrid human zombie! That would make him dangerous then . . . ”  
“I was joking.”  
“I’m not. Anything is possible. Like you said earlier, this could be a-“  
My pocket buzzed. I halted to a stop.  
“Who is that?” Alek shot.  
“Who else?”  
“Amy,” he groaned, as if her mere being was a nuisance to his existence.  
I flipped the phone open and put her on speaker.  
“Amy, hi-“  
“CHLOE!” Alek cringed at the yippy sound of her voice. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call earlier to check up on you.”  
I glanced nervously at the old woman afraid Amy’s voice would echo down the walls.  
“Its ok, really. Could you keep it down a little? We-“  
“How are you doing? Did you eat you’re lunch? Are you lonely? Do you need me to drive faster?”  
“No, Alek’s here but-“  
“Alek? Huh.”  
“Huh?” Alek grunted.  
“I just got back from your house,” Amy continued without explanation. “And we have a problem.”  
“Just fantastic,” I said distractedly. “We also have a-“ Could I call it a problem? The fact that Brian was living was a miracle, a trick, a fluke . . . The fact that Brian was supposed to be dead and wasn’t, that was a potential issue. Then again, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe he simply was a freak accident or he was strong enough to deflect the Mi effect somehow. Yay him!  
I knew I was being hopeful.  
Amy took my hesitation as a welcome for her to keep talking.  
“You’re mom . . . Well you’re mom defiantly didn’t believe us. She demands that you come home. Like now.”  
My face fell in dismay. “Wait, what?”  
If my mom didn’t believe Amy and Paul, that meant she was so going to kill me as soon as she saw me. Of course, after she hugged me to death, resurrected me, and then yelled at me first. I had been away from her for too long I knew. Homesickness was beginning to thrum in the back of my mind.  
“Ya. She knows Paul and I were trying to cover up for you, for what reason I’m not sure but she’s furious and freaked out and-“  
“Amy we have a more important situation to take care of than a mother daughter relationship,” Alek interrupted. He met my eyes, a brief apology flickering in his irises’.  
“Uh, ok. Well Paul and I are on our way back so-“  
“Brian is alive.”  
The receiver fell silent. Static hummed ominously in the speaker. The rumble of Amy’s VW engine filled the hollow silence.  
Way to be blunt Alek, I scowled.  
I tapped my hands furiously on my thighs, unable to control my growing anxiety. My mind was racing, causing time to slow to an uncomfortable pace. Each moment passed by like my internal clock was stuck in molasses.  
I seriously did not want to go home to face her.  
But a grim reality told me that I was going to have to. The longer I wait, the more worried and distressed and angry mom will be . . . . I thought uncertainly.  
But Alek was right, wasn’t he? My mom’s feelings weren’t as important as all this crazy Order business, which could ultimately effect the entire Mi race and then maybe the world.  
Mom was a part of the world after all.  
Couldn’t I just sneak into the house, hope my mom would be too distracted by relief to yell at me, and then sneak out? Five minutes. That all needed. All I had to do was put some ease into her mind and then get back to business.  
But what if’s filled my mind like Zane’s poisonous dart. What if mom had the police looking for me? What is she was prepared for me to run again? What if she cornered me and forced me into my room without negotiation? What could I do then?  
There’s always one thing I could do.  
I could tell her the truth. The idea of releasing all this craziness, of not having to lie, of getting advice from the one person I could trust . . . god that sounded inviting.  
A wave of bitterness washed over me. Of course, I would be risking her life by doing that. Not to mention there’s always the possibility of rejection. My mom could call me a freak, call the cops, and then send me on my lonely way. But would she really do that? I didn’t think so. But it was possible.  
Fear kept my feet rooted to the spot.  
“Ya, I know,” Alek sighed to the phone, breaking through my thoughts and the forever-stunned silence.  
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Amy shrieked, loud enough so that speaker grew fuzzy. “How should I feel about this? Oh my god. How is this possible? What? Oh my god! W-O-W. Wow. This is-“  
“Crazy cool!” Paul’s voice chimed in.  
“No Paul, defiantly not cool. Do you know what this means?”  
“Uh, Brian isn’t dead?”  
“NO, almost the opposite! The Orders little henchy men that Chloe defeated-“  
“Hey, I did too-“  
“-Might see Brian alive after having seen him kissed and then dead-“  
Alek froze. His jaw clenched. He had a hand on the doorknob and I watched in horror as his knuckles became snow white with tension.  
I guessed he never wondered how Brian died; he just cared whether or not he was.  
Guilt brought a chill into the hall and I wrapped my arms around my waist, balancing the phone and holding myself together at the same time. My eyes met the elderly woman’s crinkly one’s as she glanced back again. She was almost within perfect earshot, especially with her hearing aid plugged in. She grinned, I mustered up a polite smile, and then she turned away and continued carefully in the opposite direction.  
“-And you know what they are going to do?” Amy’s voice continued. “They are going to come after Brian because the Order is going to be confused and freaked out as to why this human, kissed by a Mi, is living when he should be dead because there could be more like him or he might not be entirely human or Chloe could have powers they are unaware of. Also, he’s going to make a great hostage.”  
Oh god, I hadn’t thought of any of that.  
I should have just let Brian go! I was selfish for thinking otherwise. I should have just let him go.  
“Where did this sudden burst of insight come from?” Alek said what the rest of us were thinking.  
“I’m pretty sure I saw it happen in a movie,” Amy replied through the phone.  
“Should have guessed,” Alek smirked.  
“We need to take precautions if she’s right,” I began slowly, straining to keep my chaotic emotions out of my voice. “I can’t believe I dragged him into thi-“  
A heavy crash in the apartment stole my attention; dread filled me up like a half empty cup. What now? I thought with a tired sigh.  
Alek leapt away from the door, caught off guard like a cat who was startled while in the middle of a grooming session.  
“What was that?” Amy asked sharply.  
“Not sure,” I mumbled. Everyone stopped talking, listening intently to the eerie quiet.  
When nothing sounded from behind the door again I said cautiously, “Amy, we’re going to have to call you back.“  
“Chloe King don’t you dare hang up I’m two blocks awa-“  
I canceled the call and shoved the phone into my pocket.  
The hallway fell silent.  
And the silence ensued.  
“Maybe we’re just on edge,” I said after a while, unnerved by the way my voice filled the entire hall.  
“All four of us?” Alek replied bitterly.  
I shrugged helplessly.  
Then I raised my knuckled to the door, preparing for a knock. Alek caught my wrist in his hand before I could hit the wood. The warmth of his fingers was blazing on my skin like a bracelet.  
“Wait,” he muttered. “How do we know Brian’s going to answer?”  
“Well, we don’t. So let’s find out before time escapes us,” I snapped.  
Alek grimaced in response, and let my wrist drop limply to my side, almost like he was disgusted with the idea of holding it anymore. I stared a head of me. Was I disgusting in his eyes now, after I had technically cheated on both Alek and Brian, despite neither of them having asked me out in the first place? All of sudden I felt like I was covered in a sheet of dirt, like my physical appearance really was gross.  
Alek wrapped his fingers around the dark brown knob and tried to creep the apartment door open.  
To our slight surprise, it didn’t budge.  
Someone had locked the door.  
Maybe Brian really was a human zombie hybrid after all. Or Zane really had come for me.  
F.  
I sighed, sure of what I had to do now. I knew who I had to put first, but I couldn’t convince myself to say it.  
Instead, I whimpered to myself, I’m so sorry mom, hoping she would feel my pathetic mental vibrations.  
I couldn’t leave now, not when Brian was a mystery and the Order would be coming after me and Brian soon enough and Zane could be a bastard and find out where I lived and take my mom as . .a . . hostage . . .  
Oh hell no. Now I defiantly couldn’t home.  
Frustration wiggled inside of me like a tapeworm.  
Ew Chloe. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of a nasty image.  
What am I doing? Focus, I barked. Jeesh, my head was a mess.  
“We’re not just being over dramatic and making up the fact that something is wrong right?” I asked Alek.  
“We could be.”  
“You’re reassuring.”  
“Alright, I guess on the count of three?”  
It took me a moment to understand what was he talking about. But when I did, I couldn’t contain the eager grin that spread on my lips. The mere thought of breaking down a door with simply my foot left exhilaration coursing through my confused and chaotic veins. Sure Valentina would probably make Alek and I pay for it, but in that moment of unalloyed confidence I would feel like some super cool CIA agent and not some distressed teenage Mi.  
“Three is such a clichés number,” I mused.  
But Alek wasn’t in the mood for joking, and I shouldn’t have been either.  
“Fine,” he huffed. “On the count of four then.”  
“Alright.”  
“Alright.”  
“One,” Alek began carefully. “Two . . Th-“  
Out of the corner of my eye a blob of green the color of broccoli stole my attention. It appeared to be nearing Alek and I like a slowly moving Power Chair.  
I cursed as realization dawned on.  
I couldn’t believe I was about to break down a door with a witness beside me!  
“Wait,” I ordered Alek.  
He was nearing the end syllable of four, with his leg raised in the air as if he were trying to keep his balance on a tight rope. His muscles were clenched with tension, with emotion, with eagerness to kick the shit out of the door.  
“Chloe, we don’t have all day here,” he scolded. “What if that noise really was something, then Brian could be long gone with-“  
“We have company,” I said through my teeth. I had plastered a smile onto my face, glancing between Alek and the little old woman wearing the hand-knit sweater who was now waddling our way. I guess she had discovered she was going the wrong direction the whole time.  
Suspense was bottling inside of me like coke and Mentos. I played with the skin on my stomach, starting to worry about Brian who was alone behind the locked door.  
Alek glanced behind him and, noticing the woman, turned to me so that his back was to her. He closed his eyes, looking as if he were trying to meditate his anger. But I knew it was more than just anger at me. It was also anger at himself for having lost control and let his emotions narrow his awareness of his surroundings. I wanted to put my hands on his shoulders, to press them down so that he knew he could relax. I even wanted to- dare I admit it- kiss away his pain.  
I shoved the thought away. I had more pressing things to worry about.  
“Hello ma’am,” I chimed warmly, distracting myself from distracting thoughts.  
“Why hello dear,” the woman chirped. Her voice sounded as venerable as her skin.  
She was only less than a yard away now.  
“Do you need any help? I’ve noticed you seem to be looking for an apartment.”  
“Oh, you are so sweet for asking.”  
She peered at Alek and I and took a few more steps toward us before adding, “but I think I have found exactly where I want to be.”  
“Oh,” I said, slightly confused. “Ok. That’s good.”  
She was only ten feet away now, clutching her little red handbag. She reminded me of sweet, adorable old people and of Christmas and joy. Her curly white puff of hair was pulled back in a neat headband that matched her bag. And a smooth silver cross dangled from her neck. I wanted to hug her, to embrace her musty perfume and remind myself of compassion and positivity and family.  
“I have found exactly who I need thank you,” the woman said, almost as an after thought.  
“Wait,” Alek said slowly, turning to face the woman. “Who?”  
But we were too late in realizing what our sense should have picked up. Instead of seeing the woman, Alek came face to face with her beaded handbag. He cursed as the bag smacked into his nose with an innocent, but harsh, rattle catching Alek off guard so that he stumbled backwards into me. I fell onto my butt, stunned.  
Happy feelings gone.  
“God will not accept people like you in heaven!” The woman wailed.  
“Holy shit the order is recruiting old people now?” Alek said in a muffled voice, as he pinched his nose with two fingers to stop blood from cascading down his body. The woman raised her bag and smacked Alek in the shoulder so that he winced in pain.  
“Boy, I was a part of the Order since my mother bore me in 1939! God bless her soul.”  
“I can’t believe I wanted to hug you,” I said in exasperation as I steadied onto my feet and pulled Alek away from her. “Lady, we’re just like you!”  
“Just like me?” The woman sputtered with a laugh, sending spit flying in all directions. “You may look like a human, but you will never be one. Do not kid yourself dearies! You are nothing like us normal people.”  
I flinched. “You don’t need to do this-“  
“Chloe,” Alek muttered. “She’s been an order member for almost a hundred years, she won’t change her mind now.”  
I opened my mouth to protest, but the sound of shattering glass pierced my ears as if a window had broken beside me. I shivered, anticipating cuts to form on my skin.  
But no, I realized with sudden urgency that something unknown was still going on in the penthouse. Were we too late? An imaginary movie of Zane breaking into the house, discovering that Brian was there and not me, swam in front of my eyes. I saw Zane’s twisted grin and heard his unexpected but giddy laughter as he found a new, bulletproof way to keep himself in control. He would be able to control me then, wouldn’t he?  
“Alek, Brian-“ I began in a flurry.  
“Stay. Here.” Alek choked out.  
I was taken aback when my vision cleared and I saw Alek struggling to keep a pocketknife (Was that what the woman kept in her handbag? How had she moved so fast?) from slicing his throat. The little old woman was looming over him, forcing Alek into a crouch as his arms shook with effort to keep the weapon away from his important arteries. How could a woman from 1939 be so strong?  
“I don’t think I can fight an elderly woman,” I confessed shrilly.  
“Fine!” Alek thrust the woman into a wall. I cringed at the sound of her back cracking like wood. I never thought I would see this. Watching Alek fight a grandma felt wrong, almost sick.  
“Go inside then!”  
“Dearie, I would choose me over what is behind that door,” the woman said, revealing the barest hint of being winded. She used her bag to deflect Alek’s fist that was aimed for her stomach. Alek was oblivious to her comment, he was all fight and no thought now.  
I watched as Alek’s bloody nose dripped onto the woman’s sweater.  
She glanced down, then glared at Alek with the utmost hatred. “My granddaughter made me this sweater you inhumane pompus!”  
“Pompus? Grandma you need to-“  
“Alek, don’t fuel her fiery,” I ordered in a rush.  
“Chloe why are you still here?”  
He was right.  
Ever since Brian woke up my mind was working double time, but my body had slowed down to a dangerous speed.  
“Right,” I muttered. Well, whatever was behind that door, I was just going to have to face it.  
I twirled around myself and, without a seconds hesitation- god I had been waiting for this moment for too long- thrust one leg into the door with a heavy thud.  
But the door didn’t open. I slumped my shoulders in defeat. The wood had shuttered in its frame, but remained annoyingly intact.  
“Are you serious?” I mumbled.  
“Chloe come on!” Alek barked. He pushed the woman against the wall and strode over to Valentina’s door. Effortlessly he kicked his booted foot into the middle of the door. The lock gave way, the wood cracked, but the door refused to open. Alek raised his foot for one more punch.  
“Wait!” I bellowed. Having Alek and the old woman’s gaze on me caused me to shrink into myself like a child. “Can I do it?”  
Alek pivoted on his heels without a word and stalked off towards the old woman.  
I didn’t want to watch them battle. I didn’t want to see Alek’s scowl.  
Instead I tried to thrust my foot into the door again, letting out an overjoyed yip when the wood moaned and leaned into the penthouse.  
Check that off my bucket list!  
But my joy didn’t last long.  
In fact, as I peered through the gap that was in between wood and frame, I felt the shadowy darkness of the penthouse suck out my joy. 

Chapter 8  
I clambered over the splintered front door with quiet precision, plunging into the vast darkness of the penthouse.  
And, like a pressure pad, as soon as my toes pressed into the wood flooring, Alek’s grunts of effort ceased and the woman’s beaded bag stopped rattling. Almost like an invisible barrier stood between them and me.  
All of sudden I was alone.  
That wasn’t a good sign.  
I pressed my back against the nearest wall with my muscles braced, prepared to fight. My chest rose and fell like clockwork as I made my breathing shallow. Anticipation caused the hairs on the back of my neck to bristle.  
It was odd to me how not a piece of furniture was out of place (if you didn’t count the broken door.)  
If I hadn’t known Zane was nearby, I would have thought that nobody was home. The residents had just gone for a quiet dinner down the street and they would be back soon.  
I remained stiff, knowing otherwise.  
I waited, but time steadily ticked away.  
Slowly, my eyebrows rose.  
Either the old woman was bluffing or whatever it was that was behind the door had disappeared because the only thing in the room was me. Well, that I could see.  
My suspicions rose like a flame.  
I knew it was pointless but I let my eyes revert to the living room.  
My last bit of hope deflated.  
The couches were empty, vacant, alone, unoccupied, open for business. Shadows danced across the cushions, basking in the growing moonlight.  
Wasn’t that what I had expected?  
Then why were the shadows growing darker, squirming with ominous urgency, not only on the couches but also all around the house? Almost like they were participating in an ancient sacred ritual.  
Of course, they were only shadows; I was being silly.  
I sighed and slumped against the wall like the darkness in the penthouse was sucking away all of my strength.  
So Zane had Brian now. Great. Fantastic. Perfect. I had failed again. I had basically killed Brian for a second time, third if I felt like deepening my despair and adding the time I was hallucinating his aliveness.  
“What am I going to do now?” I whispered. I seemed to be causing more trouble than saving people from it.  
I scanned the penthouse helplessly, unsure of what to do with myself.  
The lights had been switched off, the house was silent; the balcony door was shattered causing the curtains to billow in the salty San Fran breeze like ghostly arms reaching for my soul.  
Take it, I wanted to shout. Take my soul! Let my loved one’s live and just end this with me.  
But of course I didn’t. I didn’t shout at the curtains. What had they ever done to me anyway? Besides, I would have given my position away to Zane. Wherever he was . . .  
And where he was Brian was.  
My fingers toyed with my stomach.  
Brian. He was probably confused as hell. Freaked out. Tormented. Pissed at me. Pissed at Alek.  
I took a deep breath. I couldn’t afford to crumble now. I couldn’t leave Brian in Zane’s grasp (If he dared to hurt Brian he better watch out.) It was up to me to bring Brian back to his normal, mundane life. It was that even possible. And step one was to muster up my strength, to refuse to give up, and to go beat the shit out of Zane for ever thinking he could break me.  
I pushed off the wall. I had to do something.  
With my newfound determination (though it wasn’t much,) I scanned every inch of my surroundings again. I was careful to profile each of the lively shadows that lingered in corners and beneath furniture, but none of them wore a sly smile on their expressionless faces. None of them reminded me of Zane.  
Either I had missed the party, I concluded, or I was in the middle of a trap.  
Sadly, the latter was most likely.  
But nothing had happened yet.  
Why? Did he expect me to walk into a certain part of the house? Was he waiting for a queue? Or had he already left? Was I too late?  
Or. . . or was Zane not even here in the first place? Maybe it was someone else who had broke in.  
It should have been obvious that the last question was irrational, considering I could feel Zane’s presence near me, but I was starting to doubt my senses. I couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.  
And I couldn’t wait forever. So, when it obvious that Zane (Or whoever it was) was not in the main part of the penthouse, I began shuffling towards the only other direction I could go: to the right, down the hallway to the bedrooms.  
My toes slid across the wood as I transitioned from one part of the house to the other. Photos of Valentina, Jasmine, and Alek were hanging on the hallway walls lighting up the darkness. As I studied them, I felt like I was injected with an overwhelming sense of sadness. When had these pictures been taken? Valentina and her daughter side by side in a park, Alek and Jasmine tackling each other while laughing hysterically, Alek and Jasmine playing board games, all three of them- young when comparing them to the present day- stuck on a cold roof during an aggravating training session. When did Alek stop playing innocent board games? Was his feeling for Jasmine more than just brotherly love? Was Valentina ever truly proud of her daughter?  
Even in the one picture of Jasmine and her together in the park basking in the sun, I noticed, an almost disapproving glimmer was in Valentina eyes as Jasmine stood a foot below her smiling like that day had been perfect.  
Was my mom going to be like now, disappointed all the time? Because I deserved it, for lying and sneaking out and keeping my true life hidden from her.  
And yet, why was it my fault? I hadn’t asked to the Uniter. I hadn’t asked to be Mi. It wasn’t fair that I had to disappoint my mom just because the stupid universe decided that I was speci-  
“-I can see it now, can’t you?”  
I came to a rigid halt, feeling like I had hit an invisible wall.  
That voice- that traitorous voice- that floated through the air like asbestos.  
“-Yes Valentina. A world in which Chloe King does not exist, a world where Mi do not exist.”  
Chills ran up my spine. My muscles were threatening to shake.  
Zane. I’m not crazy. I’m not wrong. He was only a few steps away, hidden behind a partially closed door.  
Valentina’s bedroom door I realized dimly.  
Jasmine’s door was shut tight like he had assumed she was already dead.  
For all I knew, maybe he had killed her and she was already dead.  
“And of course, a world where you do not exist either. I expected to come here finding you snug in a coffin already, leaving behind three little distressed Mi’s that would easily burn under my touch. But I guess I just have to kill you now.”  
“I admit,” Zane continued. “That I hadn’t expected Alek to disarm me that night. I thought I could kill the Uniter, you, and your daughter in one try but I had misjudged Alek’s love for Chloe. But that wasn’t the only reason I didn’t beat his ass to the ground. I had been emotionally compromised during my mission. I should have planned on destroying your family another day but I had foolishly insisted on doing it that night. I curse myself for having failed and for running away like a coward- which I am not.” I flinched upon hearing his deadly conviction. “But I won’t this time, I promise you Valentina. I am one of the orders greatest assets. And Alek will be second to go.”  
Whoa, Zane was an arrogant bastard. How did I miss that? Oh ya, he had all of us fooled with his cutesy boyfriend act.  
And Alek. His love for me. Did he really love me? At our age, were we even capable of love? I liked him . . I liked him a lot but did that mean I loved him? Did I love Brian? If even Zane could see Alek’s affection that was bad very bad. That meant I was getting in the way of Alek’s life. I was jeopardizing his life by leading him on . . . I hope he was doing ok against that woman.  
I gulped, and held one hand to my mouth so that I could force my breath to be silent. My heart was beginning to race. Adrenaline was quickly tunneling my vision. I needed to keep focused.  
Then a thought occurred to me.  
If Zane was here, where was the surprise the old woman had talked about? Taking care of Jasmine? In the hallway with Alek? Hiding in Valentina’s bedroom until Zane gave the orders?  
I glanced behind me nervously; feeling like the hallway was stretching longer and longer, forcing me further away from Alek and civilization and into darkness.  
My veins were pulsing with blood, blood that yearned to shed other blood, Zane’s blood before he could so much as touch a hair on Alek’s beautiful head. I could sneak up behind Zane right now, I could shove the door into his body and I could tackle him to the goddamn ground and claw his throat out.  
No! I’m not a murderer, I reminded myself crudely, even though a part of me was willing to become one just to stop Zane from causing anymore suffering.  
I’m not, I’m not, I’m not a murderer.  
But I had to do something.  
Before I knew it I was standing in front of the bedroom door, my fist clenched and ready to knock the wood into Zane’s back to incapacitate him. My breathing was so low that I had to remind myself to fill my lungs. Fury heated my cheeks. Intense anger I had never experienced before was coursing through me, dangerously fueling my actions. But, even though I knew it was stupid, I let it. I welcomed the aggression.  
If there was something besides Zane and Valentina in that room, bring it because I was ready.  
In that moment, I didn’t care.  
I wound my fist back, ready to punch. Ready to let slip all of my pent up emotions.  
“Chloe!”  
No. F-ing. Way.  
My arm fell limp against my side.  
“Join us, I hope you enjoyed ease dropping,” Zane said through the door conversationally.  
He should not have known I was there. There was no possible way he could have known I was there. He was human after, he was-  
And then it clicked.  
Oh. My. God. Zane is the-  
The door flew open, revealing Zane’s normal looking smile. Valentina was on her bed, eyes closed, lying on top of the blankets like she was preparing to die. Pitiful mentally insane Zane, pretending she was actually listening.  
“How are you Chloe?” He asked while crossing his arms over his chest.  
I gulped. “Better now that I get to kick your ass,” I replied shakily.  
But my words meant nothing now. Even I didn’t believe in them. All of sudden my fury, my aggression, my need to kill was sapped out of me. All of sudden I felt like a helpless child staring into a dark, never ending bedroom closet waiting for the closet monster to engulf me.  
All of sudden I didn’t know what I was up against.  
The woman was right. Behind the door was something much worse than her.  
Zane. 

Chapter 9  
“Where is he?” I demanded, hoping that my voice didn’t reveal the agonizing despair that was cultivating in my blood. I wanted to clutch the doorframe beside me and cry deep heaving sobs that would release all of the insanity- all of the confusion- that now a day consisted of me. But no, I was already obviously weak kneed; I couldn’t let Zane know that I was becoming weak minded as well. I couldn’t afford to become a pile of used glue, not when Zane could sweep up my pieces and puzzle them together to create his own design.  
I will never be an object for Zane, I vowed silently. Not a corpse, a prisoner, and especially not a puppet. Never.  
But, as much as I didn’t want those things to happen, the way he presented himself caused doubt to flicker in my mind. I hadn’t been able to recognize the difference in his appearance when he had attacked the penthouse almost a week before, but now, face-to-face, it was plain to see what had changed about him. Zane held his shoulders back, his head tilted at a slight upward angle, as if he were a king instead of some peasant human. His eyes swirled with intricate and malicious ideas, plans, and thoughtfulness. The corners of his lips were tugged up into a constant unnerving smile like he knew that he was going to win whatever it is he wanted to win one way or another.  
But that wasn’t the bulk of what entranced my attention really. It was the fresh, thin but bulging line that peeked out from beneath his dark grey polo. I could only glimpse the tip of the scar, but I could imagine it brutally dragging down from the crevice of his collarbone down to the top of his stomach.  
What the hell was that a product of?  
Zane’s eyes bore into mine, and it didn’t take him long to realize what I was staring at. Casually, he smoothed down the collar of his shirt just enough to cover the scar, and pat his chest as if he were tucking away a sleeping baby. I was surprised he didn’t flaunt his scar like it was some royal crest imprinted on him. Why did he want to hide it?  
My Mi senses pulsed with his energy, tasting and discovering and documenting wave after wave of the darkness that emanated from his body.  
How had I not noticed his aurora before?  
Oh ya, I was preoccupied with bullet wounds in my chest.  
But before that? Was Zane human when we went to the carnival? When he dated Jasmine? He had to have been there hadn’t been any indication of something inhuman before.  
Uhg so many questions! I wanted to scream.  
But I forced myself to meet Zane’s intense, humorous gaze instead.  
God just looking into the depths of his psychopathic eyes was unnerving to me. I felt him scanning me like an x-ray, prodding and poking into my every thought and emotion. Was he? Could he see through my stiff muscles into the raw child that was inside of me? I hoped not with a burning passion. If Zane could read me as easily as a book then how was I supposed to fight him . . . it . . .this mysterious enem-  
Wait, hadn’t his eyes been a sweet ocean color before?  
Before . . .  
Before he betrayed every one of us.  
He hadn’t been smiling because he thought we were fun to be around. He hadn’t gone to the carnival because he wanted to have a good time. He hadn’t taken silly pictures because he was just another San Francisco boy.  
He had never been our friend.  
He had never truly liked Jasmine.  
I had never thought I could feel true hatred. But here I was finding aggression seething in the back of my mind, waiting for me to give the command to strike. I was ready to take revenge.  
The idea freaked me out and yet I welcomed it, desperate for something concrete and strong.  
Yes, I was sure of it now. Zane’s eyes were blue back then, back when he was human.  
Now . . . now they were a sloshy brown color. The color gave me a distinct impression of corruption.  
What has the order done to you Zane? I wondered silently, almost sadly.  
More importantly, what was I up against?  
I was face to face with Slender Man, unsure of the severity of the opponent but certain of the freaky-factor he possessed.  
“Wherever you left him last I’m guessing,” Zane replied with a shrug, dragging me back into reality. “He’s probably in the hallway still playing patty cake with grandma like a good little boy.”  
“Patty . . . cake?” I muttered dumbly.  
“Oh.” I shook my head furiously. “You know who I’m talking about, stop play-“  
“That woman, she is something,” Zane interrupted like I wasn’t in the middle of a sentence. “I found her in my grandfathers old phone book, among a surplus of other Order member names, some long gone and some still in the country. Sly devil grandfather was, if you know what I mean.” Zane let out an emotionless chuckle and gave me a little wink. I restrained the sudden urge to gag.  
If he was trying to divert my attention from Brian, it was working.  
“Ya well it isn’t her fault she’s crazy,” I said defensively.  
“Oh?” Zane’s eyebrows rose up delicately.  
“She was born into the life of anti-mi, her family was probably racist against blacks too back then. That’s all she’s known.”  
“Ms. Chloe King,” Zane said, like he was announcing me for a beauty pageant. “Always forgiving and always looking at the brighter side of life.”  
“Not always,” I shot back, like being optimistic was a childish fantasy. The way Zane made it sound, it was.  
“Chloe, I have a story for you,” Zane said suddenly. He began to leisurely pace back and forward in front of Valentina’s bed. I opened my mouth in protest but he sliced through my thoughts.  
“My grandpa was something of a leader,” he began. My eyes followed his every move. “He was in world war two of course (who wasn’t?), and he came home with a relieved smile on his face and patriotic medal on his chest ready to kiss his wife for the first time in years. And what does he find? Sweet little grandma had left him for some ass-hat. She had spent all grandpa’s money on some ridiculous wedding with her new lover, she had stolen his house, eaten his food, and worst of all, assumed he was dead as all those other forgotten soldiers were like she had no hope for him from the start. She was surprised when he came knocking on their door, oh ya was she surprised. She tried to apologize, to explain to my grandpa why she did what she did. Her lover was special she had told my grandpa. He wasn’t like the rest of us. He was strong and agile and his nails grew at impeccable rates. He was enchanting, someone she could never resist. Oh my grandpa was torn into pieces, he was a sobbing wreck. But it wasn’t long before he became angry at his wife for doing what she did. He followed her new lover to discover what was so special about him. And that was when he happened upon the Order for the first time. And in the growing town of San Francisco, my grandpa became the most dangerous and well-known hunter in the western hemisph-“  
“Oh shut the fuck up Zane,” I shot, breaking the trance that had pulled me into his tale. My impatience was beginning to coat over my fear and I forced myself not to fall for his lies. “Stop pretending you can pace on your long preppy legs and tell a lie without me knowing. Tell me where Brian is now and I won’t have to shove your head into the hard wooden door!”  
Zane didn’t flinch at my threat. He merely placed his hands into his front pockets, studied the ground, and halted his pacing with a shift of weight to his toes.  
Silence ensued.  
Oh boy did my confidence drain as quickly as it had filled me up. The glue that was keeping me together was beginning to thin from the acid that settled in my fears- The acid, along with the bewildered smile that was beginning to melt onto Zane’s face.  
“Brian?” He said quietly to the ground. “Brian, Brian, Bri-”  
“Stop saying his name,” I spat, daring to take a step towards Zane. The way Brian’s name rolled off of Zane’s tongue like a ploy, like a demon, like a new abuse-able toy, made me sick.  
“Why does his name sound familiar?” Zane mused. “Was he that lengthy boy whose girlfriend had to push him into the fight? The Asian kid who I nearly killed with one blow? The human who-“  
“No,” I said sharply.  
My muscles were beginning to shake.  
I was beginning to learn what boys felt when they needed to punch another guy in the face.  
“Sorry, I don’t know a Brian then.” He shrugged his shoulders carelessly. “Your Mi friend is probably dead by now if you have to resort to asking me where he is. The order has people everyone now. They seek, they find, they destroy. Soon enough the mi will be extinct. That, or he ditched your ass. Or maybe he-“  
“Brian isn’t a mi you ass hole!” I blurted impatiently.  
Zane’s head shot up.  
I clamped my mouth shut with my hands, digging so roughly into my lips that I could feel blood seeping into my mouth.  
Zane was no longer gazing casually at the carpet. Instead his landfill eyes were staring intently at my face as if he could find the answer he needed from my screaming thoughts.  
OH.  
SHIT.  
What did I just do? 

Chapter 10  
I pushed off of the door and lunged at Zane with a wild battle cry.  
My body gave way to primal instincts when I had no lie to offer him about Brian- I felt cornered, lost, trapped, more so than I ever have in my entire life. I felt nearly defeated- so I turned into a wounded gazelle that thought it was smart to leap on a hungry lion. What else could I do to protect the one’s I love other than kill the source of the harm?  
But my primal instincts were wrong.  
Two mistakes in thirty seconds. Wow I was getting good at that.  
“I thought you liked Alek,” Zane grunted as he thrust both his arms in front of him. My bones rattled inside of me, threatening to crack as I collided with his arm’s that, when connected, resembled a brick wall. I crumpled to the floor in a surprised heap.  
Holy mother-  
He stood over me and shrugged indifferently before jamming his elbow into my vulnerable side.  
“GAH!” I bit back a scream as my feet and head tried to reflexively meet halfway. My side exploded into a spasm of pins and needles as if Zane’s bones were made of metal bars and his skin of a billion microscopic knives.  
And he was just toying with me.  
What kind of strength did he have when he was really fighting?  
I shoved down my growing unease and forced myself to stand up. But before I could steady my feet Zane’s knuckles pounded into my left ear. A high-pitched ringing filled my head as I stumbled backwards, through the doorway, and into the hall wall.  
A picture frame thought it could cushion my head but it shattered beneath the impact and shards embedded themselves into my skin with painful ease.  
And that’s when they started to come back: The stupid, little black ants in my vision.  
Panic shivered through me. This shouldn’t be happening. I shouldn’t be getting weaker right? I should be healing. Why wasn’t I healing? It was almost as if I were a human.  
Chills rushed through my blood.  
It was almost as if I were human.  
“But then again, people are always attracted to what they can’t have,” Zane mused to my distant form.  
He now loomed in the doorway of Valentina’s room- Valentina remained sleeping behind him, oblivious to the chaos around her.  
“Poor love sick Alek. Does he know? Maybe ill just have to find this human-“ Zane took a step closer towards me.  
“And,” he drawled dramatically. “Do Alek a favor. After all he did give me a good fight the other day.”  
“Don’t you d-dare,” I wheezed pathetically.  
I couldn’t remember the last time I was out of breath. That felt like years ago, when mom didn’t have to worry because I disappeared and math homework was my worst enemy and I could kiss a boy without killing him three times.  
Zane slammed his hand into the wall beside my head, causing it to vibrate, and me to flinch. I stifled a groan as the glass sunk deeper into my skull. The black ants were marching frantically in front of me, obscuring my sight and my balance. I felt like a little kid on a boat, wobbly on the deck as the waves raged beneath me.  
But I wasn’t even moving.  
Zane’s face took on a hint of malevolence for the first visible time that night; his eyebrows appeared bushier, his jaw sharper, his lips thinner, and his eyes filled with the blackness of his pupil’s. And I really feared for myself for once.  
Before, dying hadn’t been as scary because I had nine lives to spare, but looking into Zane’s determined gaze, I felt like I could die in an instant. I felt like he could snap my body into two, just as easily as any human could die by a fall or a bullet wound.  
“Chloe, Chloe, Chole,” Zane said through my haze. “I haven’t even shown you half of my potential yet but here you are, whimpering like a pup. You are cornered, and desperate, and broken. You have a pretty face, but this pitiful state just doesn’t suit you. You are at your weakest while I am at my strongest and all I had to do was let love take its toll on your silly human-girl heart. Maybe I should . . . . “ His face twisted into a mock look of indecision. “-well no, I won’t put you down just yet. Maybe this will do you good, this suffering. Besides, we still have to find Brian don’t we? Can’t have the confused little human wandering around on his own now.”  
When I remained silent, Zane took that as an invitation to present a final blow to my gut before pushing off of the wall and away from me. He started to waltz down the hallway, a smirk tattooed on his face, and me doubled over like the sad pup he described; the conversation was apparently over.  
The black dots were filling my eyes to the brim.  
I knew that if I tried to run after Zane, I would end up on the floor in an exposed heap. But if I didn’t, he would get away and all hell could break loose. Either way, in this instant, the good guys would lose.  
I remained still, unable to will myself to try.  
God, he was right. Zane’s judgment was completely right. My chin hung low against my chest in submission. What else could I do when I was this pathetic heap?  
I couldn’t help the defeat that forced my eyes closed. My forehead was beating in time with my heart, threatening to explode and destroy my mind.  
I had let my emotions get in the way of survival again.  
And Zane was quickly slipping out of my grasp.  
“Wh-what are you?” I choked out quickly, before he could disappear for good.  
He pivoted on his heels to study me. The moonlight that reflected off of the balcony doors created a milky halo around his body. I could see the ominous figure through my lids.  
Slowly he confessed, “I don’t know.” I could almost feel him give an open armed shrug and a smile. “But it’s pretty damn awesome.”  
He took a step further into the living room, half consumed by darkness and half in light. “I wasn’t lying by the way,” he added over his shoulder. And then he melted into the shadows of the penthouse, just as if he were one.  
I remained still for a moment longer, listening to the penthouse’s emptiness that overthrew my thoughts. Once I was sure Zane was lost to the busy night of San Francisco, I slid down the wall with a grimace and rested my pounding head into my hands.  
Soon enough, the black dots consumed me. 

 

Chapter 11  
I jerked into consciousness, my back ramming into the wall with an abnormally loud thump- one that echoed heavily throughout the area and reminded me of just how alone I seemed to be- and found myself on the dark hallway floor of the penthouse, right where Zane had left me.  
I was really getting tired of the getting-knocked-out thing. Not knowing how much time has passed really sucked. I mean, how would I know that the world around me wasn’t stuck in some apocalyptic zombie rager while I was sleeping? Or that The Order hadn’t succeeded in exterminating all Mi except for me? Or my mom had had a heart attacked from my bad behavior and is in the hopsital dying?  
Ok, overdramatic I know but seriously when I am surrounded by so much lonely darkness, metaphorically and literally, how can someone blame me?  
Besides that cheerful set of anxieties, being unconscious meant I was still not recovering well. That meant something was wrong with me. Fantastic! A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Here lies the The all powerful and sacred Uniter, not murdered by her enemies but weakened so much that she mysteriously faded into nothing.  
How pathetic.  
I stretched my legs out in front of me with an ache-induced groan and continued to lean against the wall, too exhausted emotionally and physically to get up (What’s new?).  
The picture of Valentina, Alek, and Jasmine was crumpled on the ground beside me. Their smiling faces were punctured by shards of glass. The night’s shadows were taking granted of the situation and slinking around the picture as if to suck away any light and happy feelings. I delicately picked up the photo as if I could save it.  
“What are we going to do?” I whispered to my Mi family.  
I sat in silence for a moment, hoping for an answer but knowing one would not come.  
When my judgment was confirmed, I leaned my head against the wall with a sigh and started going over the last week in my head. Maybe if I attempted to sort out my thoughts, just maybe, the world would see I was trying and forgive me for my lack of 100% effort lately. And possibly, I hoped, some answers would spring up.  
Okay. This goose-bumps craziness began when Cyber Dad started emailing me.  
1\. I (Me, Chloe, this girl right here) screwed up my relationship with Brian (And Alek- don’t forget Alek)  
2\. I thought I was finally going to meet my dad at the museum but he turned out to be a super-lying-loser-in-black-with-terrible-catchphrase-skills (What a let down. . . sooo then where is my real dad? Cue daddy-issue-pain again).  
3\. I got shot (Note to self: Never, EVER get shot again). Brian and I kissed (Happily ever after?). Brian died (No, just a true Grimm fairy tale).  
So far, so Chloe-normal  
4\. Zane tried to kill me (Back stabber -_-). He almost killed Valentina (But she’s alive and in a coma because of Alek)  
5\. Alek kissed me (and I went along with it.) But then Brian woke up alive (Yes, Chloe that is usually what waking up inclines . . .more importantly, HOW IS BRIAN ALIVE? I mean, no one told me I could potentially have special powers. Most likely, it is because no one has seen this before. Great, a class A freak to freaks.)  
6\. Zane broke into the house (No surprise,) using a gazillion year old grandma to distract us (I guess because she contained surprising amounts of strength and resilience. . speaking of Grandma, I desperately hoped Alek was alright).  
7\. Zane is some super-freaky-hybrid-human boy (What the hell was that about? To stop me I guess. But more? Zane’s eyes, so power hungry and confident. How did the Order give him crazy strength and who knows what else? I guessed I couldn’t be too taken aback, considering not too long ago I found out I wasn’t human)  
8\. Then he left. He talked to a veggied Valentine, showed off a bit, and then left. 

What was he here for if he didn’t want to finish Valentine off and kill me or steal Brian?  
Brian.  
A cold chill swept up my spine. Stiffly, I straightened my back against the wall and searched the creepy darkness of the house as if Brian were playing hide and seek with me.  
I messed up.  
I really, really, really messed up. Zane had no idea who Brian was. He hadn’t known Brian existed. And I gave it away; I put Brian in danger even though that was the thing I feared doing most. Now Brian couldn’t leave my side. Now he would surely find out I am a hard to explain creature and despise me for lying and killing him. I could never face him again if he did end up hating me.  
If he did ever leave . . .I shivered and wrapped my arms around my waist: One more casualty on my head, one more loved one hurt because of me.  
I halfheartedly peered into the darkness again. If Zane didn’t have Brian, where was he?  
Part of me hoped he had instinctly run away, went back to his dad, forgot about me, and continued searching for the truth about his mom. But another part of me, the selfish part, was hurt by the idea that he would do such a thing.  
I glanced down at the picture that I hadn’t noticed I was beginning to crumple in my hand.  
Either way, I had to find Brian. I owed it to him to protect him from my world, the one I brought onto him without his permission.  
I smoothed out the photo. Valentina’s grimace was better than the stony figure lying on her bed. And Alek’s smile; I let my fingers linger on his face. If only he could smile again like that. And Jasmine-  
A distant clatter caused my thoughts to pause.  
My head shot up.  
“Alek?” In the vacancy of the house, my whisper sounded like a shout.  
No response.  
I clambered onto my knees, scanning around me like a meerkat would scan the prairie.  
“Allleeekk?”  
I perked up as the sound of shuffling sounded from the wall behind me and bounced around the emptiness.  
I peered into Valentina’s room. Through the crack of the door I could see her body continuing its rest as it had been. I dared a glance into the bulk of the penthouse. Zane’s shadow did not appear to be present amongst night’s army. I was convinced he was long gone by now.  
I couldn’t imagine someone other than a hide and seeker hiding behind the bathroom shower curtain, but I hoisted myself up with considerable, aching effort and sauntered to the end of the hall to swat the plastic sheets away. The shower, suddenly looking extremely inviting, was by itself.  
That left only one room left.  
I pivoted on my heels and strode to the final door, the one across from Valentina’s: Jasmine’s bedroom.  
Dread filled my stomach. The idea hadn’t stuck me until then, but Zane could have brought more Order members with him; one to keep each of us occupied and monitored. And by the sight of Alek’s evasiveness and concern, Jasmine didn’t seem up for a fight.  
No time to lose then.  
I refused to let someone else down.  
With one hand raised in a fist, and the other clutching the knob in preparation, I didn’t hesitate to shove the bedroom door open.  
“Jas-“ I began, with a determined expression. But the “mine” drooped from my mouth, and the expression morphed into one of surprise, as I studied the scene before me. My fist unfurled, and my shoulders relaxed just a smidge. However, I wasn’t that lucky, a new tension replaced the old.  
To pairs of eyes were blinking at me from the corner of the bedroom, not a monster or an old lady or Zane.  
I was surprised to find the human and the Mi were tucked away between the bed and the wall as if they could cuddle away the problems of the world.  
Brian looked bewildered as his brows furrowed in concern. But he wasn’t looking at me; he was staring at the ball of person he was crouched next to. Jasmine lifted her head, which looked like it weighed as much as a bowling ball, and looked at me with water filled eyes. She had tearstains drying on her cheeks and a distraught twist of the mouth. Brian had an awkward, uncertain hand resting against her hunched and quivering shoulder.  
At least I knew Jasmine was alive, and just where my missing link had gone.

 

CHAPTER 12  
I opened my mouth to speak; to let loose a hurricane of questions and uncensored comments and updates and-  
But Brian’s intense look bottled my words, and I was forced to choke the plastic down. The container slid down my throat and plopped into my stomach with a heavy splash. Oh man, I could feel a tummy ache coming on.  
As if someone had oiled the rusted bones in Brian body for the first time in decades, his head gave a subtle shake in my direction. However, his brilliant (ALIVE- sorry . . . not sorry. I just couldn’t believe it yet!) eyes didn’t linger on me more than they had to; rather Brian’s focus was trained to the shadowy corner of the room where Jasmine sat in a messy ball of human despair.  
Pushing the rising jealousy into the bottle in my stomach was difficult, especially when I noticed Brian’s warm hand gently rubbing the nape of Jasmine’s neck. Sometimes his fingers, steady with concern, toyed with the collar of her wrinkled t-shirt.  
And I wished so bad that that was me beneath his touch. I wanted so bad to give up for a day and cry in Brian’s arms and watch overly happy movies and cook pancakes for dinner. But I couldn’t.  
Yearning struck me in the chest like an icicle and I leaned against the doorframe to hide the shiver that was escaping me.  
My eyes trailed down Brian’s secure arm, to the tip of his delicate fingers, to the black raggedness of Jasmine’s shirt, to-  
I crossed my arms over my stomach and scowled at the ground.  
Seriously Chloe! I thought harshly in frustration. Jasmine needs you right now, snap out of it!!  
Besides- sadness lurked in my blood- Brian’s touch could never be mine again. Brian could never be mine again. Not if he was to stay alive.  
At least, I pretended to assure myself, I got to spend time with him at all.  
Tears threatened to bleach my face. I blinked what felt like a thousand times, desperate to be strong.  
“CHLO- JASMINE?!”  
His voice broke through my mind, blew away my tears and caused a fresh set to build behind the dam.  
Before I could move though- before I could hug him and chant “he’s alive!”- Alek’s body shoved passed mine, through the doorway and into the bedroom. He stuttered into the room with a wild wideness to his eyes.  
Faint blood splatters were painting multiple decorative strips on his pants, his shirt, his face, even his hair. (What the hell happened between him and grandma?)  
“Get away from-“ he began to shoot at Brian. But Brian’s presence seemed to be easing Jasmine, and Alek’s storm settled into a pour as he scrutinized the pair. His chest rose and fell with heavy intensity. Even he wouldn’t stop Brian from doing something good for Jasmine.  
After an adrenaline filled moment, Alek’s eyes softened, his concern for Jasmine momentarily extinguishing his pride.  
“How long has she been awake?” Even though my voice was soft, the words ominously sliced through the quiet.  
All eyes reverted to me, as if I was been the one who had just walked in unexpectedly. I retracted into the hallway, suddenly embarrassed, like I wasn’t supposed to ask silly questions.  
“Brian,” Alek said, though his eyes remained on me. “Help me get Jasmine onto her bed.”  
Brian didn’t protest. He just nodded, carefully wrapped his fingers around each of Jasmine’s limp biceps, and started to hoist up her disintegrating form. Alek’s eyes kept locked with mine for a moment longer, a million reassurances and melancholy comments and sighs transferring from him to me. Eventually though, his eyes tore from my grip and he closed the gap between him and the mangled pair, making me the outsider. Feeling helpless- feeling no longer the Uniter- I tightened my grip on my waist, almost digging my fingernails into the bullet shaped scars on my stomach that I swear were beginning to sear.  
Alek locked his arms around Jasmine’s waist as if she was a porcelain doll, and together the boys hoisted her up onto her bed. Her eyes were open. Though they were vacant, only staring at the whitewashed ceiling as if infinity was to be found there. For a second, panic flit through me at the idea of her being just a corpse, but the steady, yet careless, rise and fall of her chest reassured me otherwise.  
“Al-“ I began. But Alek shook his head, silencing me. It was obvious I was of no assistance. I basically wasn’t wanted there. I tried to shake away the intense melancholy I was beginning to feel, but seeing both boys I love (who, might I mention, would love to beat each other to death) were working together and completely disregarding me, well it was difficult not to feel some sort of teenage angst.  
Alek rested a gentle hand on Brian’s shoulder and the boys leaned into each other so that they could whisper like little schoolgirls gossiping.  
I couldn’t hear what they were chirping about, but both Alek and Brian’s faces were wrinkled with deep concentration.  
Brian nodded. Then Alek pivoted on his heels and marched towards me. He didn’t stop when he reached the hall, but grabbed my arm a tad too roughly and dragged me into the living room.  
“H-Hey!” I yelped.  
Still, Alek didn’t say a word to me.  
I watched Brian quietly close Jasmine’s bedroom door, and then both he and her were gone to me.  
Alek let go of my arm and started to pace around the couches. His lips were pressed together, his brows were clenched, and his hands were vibrating as he snapped his fingers again and again. This charade went on for what felt like forever. Even the moon was tired of this silence-noanswers thing, because when I turned to glance outside at the balcony, there was the blinding yellow of the sun drawing streaks into the purple sky like a crayon would.  
“Okay!” I barked in frustration, finally breaking the silence. Alek halted like he had hit a wall. He acted surprised, like he had forgotten I was there. Maybe he had.  
I pouted and plopped down onto one of the couches. “This being in the dark thing is-“  
I paused and chuckled at the fact that we were literally halfway in the dark while sitting in the penthouse at dawn. It was a humorless, bitter, interrupting laugh. Alek didn’t notice my slight hysteria.  
I sighed, and shook my body, trying to gather myself. “Alright, tell me what is going on Alek.”  
He blinked at me a couple of times, then wandered around the kitchen with his hand wiping at his forehead in distress. This couldn’t be just about Jasmine. Could it? I mean he had a harsh brotherly affection for her but the intensity was overwhelming.  
Either way, I was pretty convinced by then that he was just going to continue censoring himself and leave me all alone. I crossed my arms.  
Damn, we really needed to work together now more than ever. I needed to get myself together because everyone else was starting to fray. I had done my napping. Time to be the Uniter.  
I opened my mouth, ready to bark at Alek once more, to try and rattle him awake. But before I could say anything, thank god, he spoke.  
“Jasmine didn’t- doesn’t want to be seen like this,” he said to the floor.  
“Like what?” I asked in exasperation, as I propelled off of the couch and met Alek’s side. I dared to lay a hand on his forearm. He didn’t budge. The warmth of his skin was filling up my fingers.  
“Like . . . She thinks she is being pathetic. She doesn’t want anyone to know how weak she is right now! Jasmine, she fears so badly that she isn’t mi material anymore, that she isn’t capable of making proper judgments and isn’t able to protect you and us and her mom . . . God, Jasmine wishes she was there more to save her mom-“  
“-But she’s not dead! Valentina is-“  
“-And Zane, she thinks she should have known. She feels so foolish for being so blind. She hates herself for-“  
“Wait. Alek stop!” I took a step away from him and bumped into a kitchen chair. My hands shot out instinctly and clutched the wood. My head was spinning, but I shoved it away. “Are you- are you just trying to say she’s depressed?”  
He finally looked at me. His eyes bore into mine. A weird, slightly misplaced hopelessness was drowning his eyes. Everyone seemed to be falling apart.  
“Alek, poop like this happens. She shouldn’t have to feel ashamed-“  
“Brian is the only one who has been able to help her.” He said this sadly. “I couldn’t-“  
“Hey.” I said soothingly. “Stop it’s okay. Everything will be okay. We are all trying out best.” The reassurance was simply spilling out of me, even though I didn’t truly believe it. I mustered up a smile. It felt like the first smile that dared to exist for centuries. Even the penthouse felt heavy with a frown.  
“We’ll kick Zane’s ass, fight against the Order as long as we have to, and give each other some group therapy or something I don’t know! But as long as we stick together it will be okay!”  
I paused, hoping for a reaction. Alek continued to wring his hands. My heart clenched. I couldn’t stand seeing him so distraught. I needed to start acting.  
“Okay?” I continued kindly. I grabbed his face in my hands, made him look me in the eye. We waited there. A battle between hopelessness and the desire to survive this crazy thing called life.  
Eventually, he halfheartedly nodded.  
“Fine,” He muttered.  
“Fine,” I chirped.  
My fingers slid down his cheeks, his jawbone, and then I extracted them from his presence altogether. The feel of him haunted me.  
I turned away, prepared to take a stroll onto the balcony, to gather my thoughts and make up a game-plan. Though, no games were to be played here. Maybe if we-  
SLAM! The walls of the house rattled. My body vibrated with the force and I ducked with my hands covering my head.  
“FUCK!” Alek responded. The way he punched out the word caused me to flinch.  
I straightened up, spun around, fists in the air, ready. SO O O eager to punch something in the face.  
“What the fuck Amy!” Alek shouted.  
My shoulders drooped.  
Oh no.  
Alek grabbed a stricken Paul by the collar of his jacket. “You couldn’t have come in like normal ass people?”  
Amy’s eyes were wide in astonishment. Her fingers tightened around a thin slip of white paper that she had been holding up for all to see.  
All three of them stood in the doorway at a standstill.  
“Uh,” I mumbled awkwardly. “Hi. Welcome home.” Huh. Home.  
“H-hello,” Paul tried to chime. But his voice came out as a choke as Alek lifted Paul’s heels off the ground.  
“Alek!” I said steely. “Don’t take your crap out on other people.”  
Alek didn’t move for a moment. I worried that he was going to throw Paul into the kitchen sink.  
Then his grip loosened. His fingers burned red. He dropped Paul, shoved him into the door with an effortless punch, and marched out the front door. His heavy boots echoed through the complex’s hallway. Tension fogged up the air.  
“So, “ Paul said breathlessly, as he straightened his jacket. “Bad day huh?”  
“No kidding,” I whispered.  
“Us too.”  
Paul plucked the white slip from Amy’s hand and waved it around like a ribbon.  
“We would have been here earlier,” he said. “But Amy thought that the popo would understand if we told them we were speeding because my mom needed a ride to the hospital considering her water broke at home and my dad was at work. Heh, seems kind of ridiculous now.” Paul gave a sheepish shrug.  
I couldn’t contain it. I started to laugh. The sound was so foreign in the now sunlit house.  
Man it was too early for life.  
“Hold on a second,” I breathed.  
Amy cocked her head in confusion.  
“You-“ I giggled. “Got. A. Ticket. From. The police?”  
Oh god, once it started I couldn’t stop. One of those intense, hysterical, gut-wrenching fits of laughter. I keeled over. My stomach was throbbing from the sudden outbreak of movement. But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop.  
Paul chuckled uneasily. “Well, ya. That happens when you go seventy five in a neighborhood.”  
“See, but-“ I gasped. “That. Is. THE MOST, mun-fucking-dane thing that has happened to us!!”  
“She just cussed,” Amy stated worriedly. “Chloe king just said a bad word.”  
“Well, it is kind of funny,” Paul agreed with a chuckle. “I mean, we have been through all of us crazy stuff and here we are, having to deal with something as normal as a parking ticket.”  
“Ya,” Amy said, starting to giggle now.  
I was becoming infectious. I was on the floor, laughing in a comedic way into the wood.  
It felt so good.  
“Ya, that is so true. Like, this kind of gives me hope in a weird way.”  
Jasmine was a vegetable in her room with Brian having the weight of her problems on his shoulders not knowing that Zane wants to kill him, Alek was having a mini break down, Valentina was in a coma on her bed. And here Paul, Amy, and I were, laughing our butts off on a dusty, battleground.  
Brian appeared above me without warning. His shadow covered me like a thin blanket.  
I looked up at him with a foolish smile; laughter was still spilling from my lips. It was uncontainable. I couldn’t stop it. The thought kind of freaked me out, and yet I was filled with such euphoria that part of me wanted to laugh forever into nothingness; a pile of grey glue shavings.  
“Go to bed Chloe,” he ordered.  
Then he turned away and disappeared behind Jasmine’s bedroom door.

CHAPTER 13  
I woke up to rain washing across my everything.  
It wasn’t until I slammed my head into the facet when I was trying to sit up did I remember I was in the shower.  
I moaned, and rubbed furiously at the top of my head- as if that would smooth away all of my aches and worries, I mused.  
A steady stream of hot water thrummed across my back, kneading the knots in my muscles. My thoughts melted beneath the touch. Well, Jacuzzi-temperature water might help.  
I wanted to stay there forever, hunched within the water with my head locked between my knees; Stuck in a fetal position where no one could get a hold of me: Sorry, Chloe cannot come to Reality right now, please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEP.  
The bathroom seemed to escape the constricting embrace of time. Maybe, if I stayed there, I could figure everything out, find the answers, and leave the bathroom when I wanted to, and the world would still be exactly like it was when I had first climbed into the tub.  
If only.  
Sadly, things needed to start getting done. Something needed to happen. Hiding in the penthouse could only work for so long.  
My mom’s face faded into my mind.  
She must have called the police already. I was sure of it. A teenager missing for over a week? Yup.  
God, she deserved so much better.  
I have to call her, I think. I have to contact her, let her know I am okay.  
I hesitated to move though. I was lost in the consistent patter of the shower.  
Eventually though, I let out a monstrous groan, one that bounced against the walls and echoed all around me like a beautiful and natural tornado. Then I stretched my soggy limbs across the smooth ceramic of the tub.  
Reluctantly, I forced my fingers to twist the shower knob to “off”. The water sniffled and then ceased, and I was tempted to sniffle with it. BUT, instead of throwing the tantrum I was yearning to release, my body quivered with chills. Not cold chills, but emotional chills. I guess that was a more grown up way of dealing with the world. I guess.  
With my butt sticking to the tub, and a pathetic amount of hesitation, I started to concoct a mental checklist of things to do- gotta start somewhere:  
1\. Call mom and try to explain why I have forced myself to be an orphan  
2\. Stop whining  
3\. Restock the fridge with HEALTHIER options  
4\. Get someone to cook dinner. . oh wait, breakfast  
5\. Kick Zane’s ass . . Hold on, gather my troops and help them find mental stabilibly THEN 6. Kick Zane’s ass

Eventually, through the haze of the bathroom, I managed, sluggishly, to crawl out of the tub and drag cloths on. Now that I had a slight, miniscule idea of what to do, I felt all right. Not good, but no longer okay. I was so all right I even brushed my hair for the first time since I passed out. Happy unbirthday to me!  
I tried to ignore the blonde haired, bright eyed, chick that stared at me from the mirror as I tucked my hair into a bun and took in a deep, centering breath.  
Black shadows slithered beneath her eyes, reminding me to be the real robust, real ready, real real reflection.  
With that in mind, I thrust open the bathroom door. Instantly a wave of cool, fresh air wafted around me, forcing the haze to swirl around itself and disappear. The hallway was vacant but I could hear Amy’s high-pitched chatter, and- yes that was the smell of bacon and eggs!  
“ Time for reality”, I mumbled to the penthouse.  
My stomach growled. 

 

It was weird walking into the kitchen entrance that morning. Nice, but weird. When I had stridden into the bulk of our home, I had not expected to run into a “Sunday-morning-before-church-brunch” type thing. I mean, I wasn’t religious but I remembered seeing that kind of stuff on TV, and I heard people at school talk about it. I had to admit, it was kind of cool.  
The dining room counter was covered in all kinds of foods and drinks- from fruit and oatmeal, to egg sandwiches filled with hash browns and bacon stacked one on top of the other, and of course, cheese Danishes and muffins. I felt like I had walked down to a hotel buffet.  
I mean tons of food wasn’t weird- especially since my insides were whining and tugging at My Everything for attention- the fact that the atmosphere surrounding the food was . . . normal . . . . was the weird thing. I had to admit, I was a bit concerned. Why wasn’t the food swimming in negativity and despair?  
Before I could truly question that, a blur of optimism and rainbows startled my attention.  
Amy looked like a fairy as she danced around the kitchen with no shame. Her midnight hair followed her like a devoted partner, whom was willing to create a beautiful, tear-jerking duet with her as she sprinkled a bit of salt into the sizzling pan of eggs. I barely had time to process the glittering of the salt before she was pivoting to the counter to snatch a delicate bite of watermelon. As she chewed, she pivoted again to face the fridge. She swung the fridge door open and, with no hesitation or doubt, extracted a tub of bright and amazing looking orange juice from its designated spot.  
We had orange juice? Wait, Amy could cook? WAIT, was Paul sitting on the kitchen counter slicing apples?!  
“Hello, hello, hello my gorgeous Chloe, Chloe the best friend of me,” Amy sang, as she noticed me gaping at the content couple. She paused a moment to make eye contact with me, and then, having succeeded, off she went, laying out six clear, CLEAN, cups next to Paul’s hip. Paul managed- no, he didn’t need to manage- Paul happily smiled at me as he continued to concentrate on his apple slicing duties.  
“Uh,” I began with a flustered shake of my head. “Hi.”  
I dared to enter Disneyland.  
“How was your shower?” Amy asked.  
I slipped into a kitchen chair, letting my hips sway from side to side with the swiveling seat. “Great,” I shrugged. And, being in the presence of Amy, I knew, oddly enough, that that statement was true.  
“Where did all of this come from?” I eyed a muddy colored muffin that sat before me on a plate of every kind of flavor you could imagine. Giving in to its beautiful shimmer, and the sweet baby chocolate chips (everything seemed to taste better when it is claimed “baby-like”) I scooped up the goody and allowed myself to pick at the top. The sweet familiar taste melted in my mouth and happily lingered on my tongue.  
Gosh dang it maybe all I needed was a giant Costco chocolate muffin to solve my problems.  
“Paul and I went re-grocery shopping a little while ago,” Amy replied. She was now filling each of the six glasses to the brim with orange juice. My mouth watered. Orange juice never looked so good.  
“You went shopping while I was in the shower? Wow, you guys are efficient.”  
“What do you mean?” Paul said. He swiped the apple pieces from the counter and into a bowl.  
Unfazed, I picked at the middle of my muffin. Still swaying, I started to carve a hole in the middle of it. I stuck my finger in it. Hehe, I made a chocolate cave.  
“I mean, you guys were still here when I hopped in, and when I hopped out you’re here now!”  
“You do realize its ten thirty?” A new, harsh voice interjected. My bubble of happiness became tainted with bugs.  
“Oh.” Had I really fallen asleep for two hours in the shower?  
“We had thought you had drowned or something,” Amy joked, trying to reset the good mood. She was my devoted fly swatter.  
“Actually, none of us said anything. So if you had drowned, and been dead in the shower, we wouldn’t have guessed.”  
And there Moody Alek was being, well, Moody Alek. He was busying himself with the shattered balcony door. I knew he had been avoiding all human contact. I hadn’t even known he was there I had been so entranced by the kitchen scene.  
“Woops,” I said.  
“Sure,” Alek replied. He didn’t look at us. If he didn’t want to interact with us, why bother speaking up?  
He only focused on the empty frame. The sharp fragments of glass had already been swept up and disposed of. Now Alek was unsheathing a long piece of glass that still had a sticker on it that read “HOME DEPO!” in deep orange and black. Wow they were productive when I wasn’t around.  
“Okay,” I said, hoping to avoid the awkward silence that was already among us. I placed a piece of muffin on to my tongue and I tried to let it dissolve. But now the food tasted like sandpaper. Paul leaped off of the counter and quietly began to make a plate. Amy stood beside him, frowning at Alek.  
Great. Way to ruin my one happy moment Alek.  
I flicked the muffin piece onto the plate with a huff and stood up. The chair hadn’t expected my abruptness, and it continued to swing side to side like it was missing an occupant already.  
I knew the Sunday-brunch type feel was too good to be true.  
At least I got to play with my food without being told not to.  
Mom.  
“I’ll be right back,” I said. “ I have to go call my mom.” 

Chapter 14  
“Hello?”  
I nearly collapsed on to Valentina’s bedroom floor.  
My mom’s voice sounded like everything I had been missing these past few weeks (Maybe even months): comfort, stability, unconditional love, hope. God, I missed her so much. And the pain hit me all at once and without mercy.  
“Hello?”  
I leaned against the bedpost. But deciding that it was creepy having Valentina sleep behind me, and possibly listen to my conversation (At least it was better than having Alek walk into his room and finding me crying like a baby), I turned around and leaned against the closed bedroom door.  
“Hello? Is anyone there?”  
“Uh-“ I said in a panic, hoping she wouldn’t hang up. “Hi! Hello! Hi!”  
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I berated myself. You have been missing for like a week and the only thing you can say is “hi”? Way to go daughter of the year.  
“Wait,” my mom replied in a whisper.  
My heart stopped.  
I knew it. I knew she would hate me. I knew she would want to basically kill me for what I have done to her. And what if she found out the real reason as to why I hadn’t been home? God, I was so stupid to ever think that I could tell her the truth and still be her daughter! She hates me. She never wants to see me again. Now that she knows it’s me she’s going to hang up and-  
“C-Chloe? Chloe- is that you?”  
My heart jump-started.  
I felt it beating in my chest like it might break my bones, rip through my muscles, and make a run for it.  
“Hi,” I said meekly instead of running. I held my eyes shut tight, still anticipating her to disown me.  
“Chloe!”  
“Mom-,” I began, desperate to explain myself. I wanted to tell her so badly. I wanted her to know everything.  
Her voice- MY MOM’S VOICE- sounded amazing to me. No, not amazing, perfect! My heart melted. The shadows that had been following me were slowly disintegrating beneath her power. She didn’t sound angry. My mom didn’t sound like she was going to disown me!!  
“Why would you skip school? Run away? NOT call me? Chloe I have been so worried about you I thought-“  
But she couldn’t tell me what she thought because the emotion was just too much.  
“I know,” I said like a lame teenager.  
I took a deep breath. My shoulder blades pushed roughly into the door. “I know. And I am so, so sorry mom.”  
“You should be- but oh god Chloe when Amy and Paul came over, I was so sure you had gotten into drugs or a gang or gotten pregnant and you were just too ashamed to come home! But-” Her mom paused. “You aren’t any of those things? Are you?”  
I hadn’t realized I was holding my deep breath until then. Slowly, I let it out as the idea that my mom still thought I was a normal, human girl.  
“No mom I-“  
“-Cause Chloe, baby, if something like that ever happens sure be afraid of my motherly wrath but still come to me so I can help you. You can tell me anything Chloe. I hope you know that.”  
My insides turned. I could tell her right now. Just go ahead Chloe, let your mom know that you are some impossibly real creature never heard of before in your human world!  
“Mom I am-“ a cold sweat broke over me. Do it. Do it! DO IT!! A voice screamed in the back of my mind. Take the chance, don’t be a coward, she’s your mom for crying out loud! JUST TELL HER NOW and get it over with dummy.  
I shoved tears back with a heavy gulp. If only I could, I thought helplessly. The voice in my mind shivered like an excruciatingly hot flame. But I just couldn’t. The words crawled back down my throat instead of out of my mouth. I felt like I was going to be sick.  
“-I am sure I can tell you anything,” I finally lie. “I just got scared. I didn’t want to drag you into this and hurt you. One thing after another and then I found that I had dug myself in to a hole.” Well, at least part of that was true.  
“Chloe, tell me where you are, I am coming to get you.” Mom’s no-nonsense-tone. Funny. That used to scare me into submission. But now that her life was on the line, I had to defy her once again. I was so tired of fighting.  
“Listen, I am really, truly sorry-“ I started desperately.  
“Chloe Marie King, I swear to God I will not take anymore aversion from you. You are coming home right now. This is insane!”  
“But mom just listen-“  
“Chloe,” my heart clenched at the sudden tiredness in her words. “At this point, I will listen to your story when you are safely in my arms and both of us are sobbing like babies about this whole endeavor. Please . . . Just come home.”  
I stared down at my bare feet. I hadn’t realized it until then, but I had been picking at a forgotten piece of shattered glass with my toes. My pinky toe was painting the wood floor light red. There I go again with the-getting-my-blood-on-the-floor-thing. Weird I had been so caught up in the phone to not notice the paper cut like sting.  
I took a deep breath. I had let this conversation go too far. I had only one option now. Taking in a shuttering breath, I wiped away the oncoming tears and said, “I love you. I will be home as soon as I can-“  
“Don- don’t Chloe! Wait-“  
“-Or maybe I will just stay out of your hair so you don’t have to feel such pain again-“  
“What are you say-“  
“Mmayb-bee go find your-your self,” the tears were coming strong now, “A lovelovelovely guy who will love ove you better than I cou-could ever. I wish the best for youuuuu. I just- I just can’t keep lying to you mommy. I am so tired. So- so incredibly tired of this all.” The dam cracked in uneven halves. The glue flaked away like ashes that rain down after a ginormous fire. I couldn’t stop the flow of tears. It was like a tsunami had come to flood the penthouse. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I let my back limply slide down the door. My butt plopped to the ground with a mercilessly jolt. The phone slipped out of my hands with a sickening crack. My vision was completely blurred. My chest was too tight. My stomach was clenched. My mind was a landfill of confused emotions.  
I sat there and cried. And heaved. And cried for god knows how long. Seconds, minutes, hours, I didn’t care. I couldn’t care.  
All I could do was cry. 

Chapter 15  
An aggressive knock on the bedroom door shocked me awake with a bone rattling thump, thump, thump. I hadn’t even known I was asleep. I guess I had cried myself into nothingness. I found myself exactly where I had left me: crumpled up against Valentina’s bedroom door.  
“Chloe?” A girl’s voice. Considering the circumstances that meant Amy’s voice was behind door number 1.  
Another knock. This one unsuspectingly soft.  
Did I have a door number 2? One that involved ice cream and being norm-  
Stop. Chloe King you must accept that this is your normal now. There is no such thing as a real “normal” anyway. You did not just break your mom’s heart to mope and give up instead of mope and take action. GOD DAMNNIT I am so sick of you!  
I squirmed against the door in frustration, attempting to rid myself of the negative and hopeless energy that consisted of me (And attempting to rid myself of the icky curse word I let slip). I could be extremely annoying to myself sometimes.  
You have to get a hold of yourself, I ordered. No more teenage angst crap. I needed to be strong. I needed to snap out of my intense, but none-the-less real, black hole and fix things the best I could. Because I could.  
My mind drifted back to the eighth grade when Principle Hamilton (Our third principle that year) decided it was a great idea to herd the entire ADHD School into the auditorium for a two-hour guest speaker assembly. He had said something that stuck with me (Surprisingly):  
“Your life is made up of your choices.”  
Ya, ya all phrases that come out of an inspirational speaker’s mouth sounded cheesy. But who was to say cheesy was not true? It was my life. I could decide to mope and give in or I could fight. No one else could tell me or force me to mope. Only me. And I had been giving myself permission to fall apart. Granted, breakdowns kind of just happen, but not every hour or, like, everyday. An image of a preteen me lying on my bed pretending to enjoy listening to scremo music popped into my head.  
Okay, I tell myself with a shake of my head, I will stop there with the reliving-the-past thing (I would like to thank the eighth grade speaker (who no one knows his name) at this time for randomly coming to my aid. Thanks man). Middle school should never be talked about once it is completed. Never.  
The door shuttered. My body followed without consent. Earthquake?  
My ears vibrated with the sound of fist meeting wood. Nope, person knocking.  
“Um, Chloe can I come in?”  
I was brought back to reality. Like I said, ADD.  
I swung my head from side to side, trying to inspire my Fight. Amy waited patiently outside, waiting for me to stall just long enough so that she could resume her part in pursuing me.  
After a moment of silence, the doorknob carefully twisted beside my head. Patience extinguished. A few of my hairs got caught in the twister. Poor little buddies. Never saw it coming.  
I pressed my back against the door in retaliation.  
“Ya,” I choked out. “Ya, just give me a second.”  
I began wiping furiously at my tear stained face. The tears had been long since dried, but I licked the palm of my hand and scrubbed away the evidence that created glasses around my eyes.  
I couldn’t get much better than a couple dry mascara flakes and faded eyeliner marks, so I hoisted myself up into a standing position after a second and stretched out my limbs in order to appear spritely.  
Once remotely satisfied with my clean up, I took a step away from the door and cleared my throat.  
“Come on in,” I ventured.  
Slowly, the door cracked open. A daring black curl snaked first into my vision. But, instead of being fed with three different kinds of shampoo and a special brand of hair spray, this curl gently flowed in the breeze that followed the opening of the door. Ya, girls notice things like that about their best friends.  
I couldn’t suppress the surprised “OH!” that escaped my lips when, instead of Amy, a bashful (foreign) Jasmine stepped into the room and stood in front of me. She looked sad still, but fresher than before. Like she had finally taken a shower and accidentally fallen asleep in it or something.  
Haha. I am so funny.  
“Hi,” She stated.  
“Uh-“ I drooled, unable to comprehend how she could have jumped out of her stupor quite so quickly.  
Snap out of it! I scolded.  
“Hi! Hello! Jasmine, hi! It is so nice to see you out of your depressi- ing bedroom,” I chirped as I excitedly skipped to her side and stole a hug. She didn’t hesitate to return the gesture. Actually, unlike previous hugs in our history, this one was meaningful and most wanted (In a good way).  
“Hi,” I said again.  
She smiled to the ground in amusement, her hair covering half her face, her heart only feeling half the emotion.  
A calming but rather awkward silence ensued. I had a couple of questions for her, ones I knew she wouldn’t feel like answering. Although, considering she woke up one day to find Brian comforting her, I would think she had a couple questions herself. And though I never felt like answering them in the first place, today I would make the choice to. Those questions hung in the air, as if asking whether or not we dared to adventure into such heavy topics right off the bat.  
“IIIIIII heard you missed breakfast,” Jasmine offered. The walls ate up the sound.  
“Uh, ya, ya I guess I did.” So did I.  
“So I brought you a plate.” The questions evaporated momentarily.  
My eyes fell upon what Jasmine was holding. I hadn’t noticed the gleaming ceramic circle resting in her hand until then and my stomach moaned and snarled with passionate hunger at the sight of it.  
I patted my tummy and tried to brush off the blush in my cheeks.  
“Shhh, patience pad wan,” I joked lamely as Jasmine pushed the food towards me.  
“Obviously this is well needed,” she said. Her eyes darted from side to side for a moment, as if searching for something. But maybe she just had something in her eyes, I justified.  
My stomach rumbled again, bringing me back to earth.  
I studied the contents on the plate: a turkey sandwich stuffed with condiments and meat and cheese, three homemade cookies (I could tell they were homemade because of their unusually crafty blob-like shapes), a juicy piece of bright colored watermelon, a bag of plump, unopened BBQ chips . . . My mouth watered like a dog’s does when the owner decides to hand over her left overs. My stomach agreed with my salivating by rolling over and barking.  
“Lunch time?” I asked, gratefully sliding the plate on to my hands.  
Jasmine’s eyes flickered behind me towards the occupied bed. Her lower lip betrayed a hint of on-coming quivers.  
“Uh,” she began distractedly. “No, actually-“ her eyes slowly trailed up and down the lump lying in the bed. “Dinner.”  
I casually took a side step in front of her line of vision and said, “Wow really? Man I must have needed more sleep than I thought these past few days,” I said as brightly and calmly as I could.  
Jasmine pretended to stretch her neck from side to side. Really she was craning it to look over my shoulders, my head, anything to see behind me. Obviously, seeing me had not been on her list of priorities.  
Couldn’t say I was offended or anything. She had every right to want to see her mom. But being in the state she was, I worried that seeing her mom would only deepen her anxiety and guilt. I felt like she needed to slowly be exposed to what was happening in order to grab her barring’s. Maybe I was wrong to do so, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.  
“Thanks SOOOO much!” I drawled, further ranting to keep her remotely occupied. “Again, I am so so sooo happy to see you out and about.” At this, I flashed her a dazzling, practically genuine smile. But Jasmine missed it. She half-smiled at what I had said, as if on cue or something, as her eyes continued to peer around me. Tears started to get in her way.  
“Anywayyyyyyy! I was just about to come out and see what was happening outside the bedroom when you knocked. What a coincidence right? Haha, funny stuff.” I knew I must have sounded utterly stupid, but I was desperate to divert her attention. I gently grabbed hold of her elbow and began to steer her out the door with me. “So, tell me, is anyone home? Or is it just us? Maybe we could have a movie-“  
“I did this,” Jasmine mumbled, so quietly I almost missed her words.  
I flipped her around to face the hallway. She obliged without protest but I think that was just because she was quickly falling into a vegetative state. “What was that beautiful?” I asked. She craned her head back, desperate to see Valentina.  
“I should have been stronger like she taught me. I should have known Zane was- I should have- I should have- I should have-“ she whispered over and over.  
Tears were freely sky diving off her cheeks now.  
“-I should have, I should have-“  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I exclaimed, while snapping my fingers next to her ear. “Jasmine come back to me. Everything is okay.”  
I stepped into the hallway, but even as I tugged and pulled at Jasmine’s limbs, egging her on to follow me, the best I could do was make her upper body sway towards me, threatening to crush me beneath her. And let me just say, Jasmine had ten times the muscle weight I did. Sooo, maybe not the best idea.  
“I should have!!” She bellowed, taking me off guard. I nearly jumped out of my skin. My hands instinctively leapt from her body. I hadn’t realized that she was relying me until she crumpled to the ground in a heap.  
The front of her shirt was already soaked with tears, and a harsh, fresh wave was just beginning to stir.  
“Jasmine!” I kneeled down beside her and began to pet her head soothingly.  
“Hey, stay with me,” I cooed. “I promise that everything is alright. You are okay. I am right her. I will not leave your side. See? you are not alone. And it is not your fault.”  
Her tears transformed into short, wet, heaving breaths. Her chest beat in time with my racing heart.  
Her body limply rolled into my lap, and I continued to comb her hair with one hand while rubbing circles on her furthest shoulder with the other.  
“Jasmine?” I whimpered. “Jasmine, Jaaasssmine, JASMINE-“  
“Jasmine.” This one is a command. “Look at me.”  
I can tell she is barely with reality. Her eyes only flickered to meet mine for a split second when I said her name, before roaming beneath closed lids.  
She was wheezing now. The sounds of child-like despair and defeat echoed through the penthouse. My heart slowly, painfully, broke in to two pieces.  
I wanted to help her but I just didn’t know how!  
“I-I’m sssss-ssorrr-rr-y,” she whimpered, her body jerking at every syllable. “So o – o o sss-sorr-rry.”  
“Shhh,” I replied gently. “No need to say sorry.”  
Her earth shattering sobs continued without skipping a beat.  
I glanced behind me. The hall walls seemed to me like clogged arteries all of a sudden. My eyes found their way to the brightly lit living room. The empty, brightly lit living room. Where was everybody?  
Feeling her squirm in my arms, I altered my hands to pet Jasmine with smoother and longer strokes versus short and quick one’s. But I continued to search the house as if I might find a clue as to why the two most seemingly unstable of us all were alone.  
Eventually, after rocking back and forward on my butt to the point of numbness, Jasmine’s sobs melted into hiccupping sniffles. Her breathing had slowed, but by only a fraction. She kept muttering under her soaking breath, things like: “I’m crazy I’mcrazyI’mcrazy,” or “I should have”, or “why such darkness all around”.  
“Shhh. Shhh, its alright,” I whispered over and over. Because by then, my voice was beginning to grow hoarse and my energy was all over the place, ricocheting back and forward on the walls like a ping-pong game.  
The living room had grown dark as, I dimly realized, the had sun set without thinking about the people on earth who might have needed a little extra light. I glared at the ceiling as if the sun might feel wrath.  
The shadows started to pop up one-by-one, then three-by-three. Darkness threatened to creep in around us.  
But no, I had to stay strong. For Jasmine and mom, for myself.  
What would my mom do? I think. How would she help me if I were on the floor having a panic attack?  
Suddenly I felt too young to be handling life. However, I willed myself to push through disarming thoughts and emotions because I had to. I did not allow myself another choice.  
Jasmine’s lids were shut tight over restlessly shifting eyes, as if a barricade was to be made between her sight and the world. Her fingers twitched a bit, they occasionally tapped on my knee or my thigh or the ground. The tears had finally stopped coming. I think she dried herself up. And, though her breathing sounded heavy and struggled, the panic had settled to the bottom.  
She was asleep.  
I had stopped petting her a while ago, but my fingers had become so accustomed to the motion that they automatically brushed her hair away from her face. She didn’t look calm like she should have while resting, but the lines in her face did begin to smooth out. Slowly but surely.  
Not wanting to leave her on the floor, and desperately not wanting her to wake up still in her coma-induced mothers room, I delicately extracted myself from beneath Jasmine’s body and mulled over a way to carry her to her room across the hall.  
In the end, the only way I could see my plan happening was by carefully dragging her.  
I didn’t know what time it was, but I was sweating and the night had for sure been haunting San Francisco for more than an hour by the time I lugged Jasmine on to her bed. She didn’t stir. And I was thankful for that.  
I turned to go away. But I lingered in the doorway, hesitant to leave her by herself. Maybe I should sleep in the chair across from her bed? Or on the floor? Or maybe I should just stay up and make sure that I am totally awake and ready to help if she needs anything?  
I rubbed at my face. Catching myself mid way, I clamped my hand down to my side. Man was I tired. Despite having slept during the entire day, I was pooped.  
I decided against sleep. I didn’t want Jasmine to be startled into another panic attack if she woke up alone in the dark, somehow in her room.  
So I plopped down on to the living room couch and flipped the TV on, making sure to keep the volume down extra low in case I missed a noise from the hall. 

Chapter 16  
“Good morning sleepy head,” a chipper voice announced. Reluctantly, I opened one bleary eye to find Amy’s face bobble heading in front of mine.  
I blindly searched for a pillow, and, when I finally encountered one, shoved it over my head. As if I could block out the idea of having to really wake up.  
Ha. Ha ha. Hahaha.  
The pillow was ripped away. ! Reality check! And the sun seared my eyes. I hissed, pretending to be a vampire- one that does not sparkle.  
“Ah come on,” Amy fake pouted. “You can actually eat breakfast this time. I promise!”  
Food.  
I leapt off of the couch and scrambled towards the kitchen counter. Amy laughed at me. My stomach howled in response.  
Last night I hadn’t had time to enjoy the plate Jasmine had brought me. In fact, where was it? I didn’t remember dropping it. I guess, in haste, I had placed it on the dresser beside the doorway? I don’t know. The workings of last night were a slight blur- the workings, not the actual events however.  
“Is Jasmine-?” I began, as I simultaneously shoved half a Costo muffin into my pie hole.  
“Jasmine? Oh she’s fine. Sleeping like a baby in her room.” Relief flooded through me.  
Amy slid in to a seat beside me and decided to pick at a bowl of fruit, completely ignorant to Jasmine’s breakdown last night.  
“How are you?” Amy tried to ask nonchalantly. She studied her slice of mango with unnerving intensity.  
I paused mid muffin bite. “Ready to conquer,” I replied cryptically.  
Amy opened her mouth to strike another question, but strike out! (Not sorry for that) Paul waltzed in to the room with a hearty “Howdy everyone!” before she could say anything more.  
“Hey Paul,” I said with a smile. Deciding to be okay felt a thousand times better than being mopey and hopeless. And, you know what, it felt good despite all of the poopoo that had been going on. I felt kind of okay about everything, like I could somehow handle it all. I guess I was ready to conquer. I mean, I woke up just as many normal teenagers did, I was scarfing down food like a garbage disposal as many normal teenagers did, AND I was conversing with my best friends as many NORMAL teenagers did (without any psycho barging in and trying to kill me yet).  
Elated with myself, I barely noticed when Brian burst through the front door carrying two things of plastic water bottles, one on top of the other.  
He dropped them on to the counter with a hefty, crinkling, thump. He didn’t so much as glance at me as he tore a water from its carrying case and began to chug it. The container was empty by the time he was done with it. He crushed the plastic between his hands and tossed it in to the recycling bin that I was unaware we had. It looked brand new- all shiny and bright. Amy was really out doing herself, acting all “mother hen” like. Where was this money coming from? I had no idea. I was about to ask when Brian stomped towards the hall, patting Amy on the back almost-lovingly, and giving Paul and dude-hand-shake on the way.  
I gaped at his back before it disappeared in to the bathroom.  
I twisted in my seat to stare at Amy. “What was that about?” I asked incredulously. “Gone back to the fourth grade have we? And when did Brian act like everything was normal?!” Ha, the cruel, cruel irony.  
Amy sighed. “He’s just having trouble adjusting to how things are,” she said evasively.  
“Does he know-“  
“Alek told him.”  
“So I’m a freak-“  
“He didn’t take Alek’s, and I quote, ‘bullshit lies’.”  
I hated it, but I felt a smidge of happiness that Brian and Alek still butted heads. At least something was slightly consistent. At least they were still my boys.  
No, I stopped myself with a sad realization. Neither of them was mine anymore. I didn’t deserve them in the least bit.  
“Hmm,” was all I said aloud.  
“You can imagine he is kind of angry, hurt, feeling betrayed right now huh?”  
“Huh,” I agreed.  
I continued mauling my muffin to oblivion in silence. Then I moved on to the omelets and oatmeal. 

* * * *  
I popped out of the bathroom with fresh teeth. And I had planned on sitting everyone down, meaning Alek, Paul, and Amy for a meeting about Zane with those fresh teeth (And metaphorically fresh mind) but, of course, who happened to just be exiting Jasmine’s room as I exited the bathroom? DING, DING, DING, Brian.  
Sighing, I made a quick life decision like a good little young adult.  
“Hey, not that you want to talk to me, or even really see my face, which is totally understandable-“ I ranted quickly. I jogged to meet up to him.  
He looked in front of him at Valentina’s bedroom door. “-But last night Jasmine-“  
“You keep lying to me,” Brian barked quietly. The words fell out of my mouth and smacked in to the floor. I just wanted to find some common ground and inform him of Jasmine’s breakdown. And then this. Well, can’t complain. While brushing my teeth, I had been chanting to myself, “ready to conquer” over and over until the idea sunk in so deep it became surreal. Time to conquer I guess.  
“You used me to go to some museum, and I was such a fool for thinking that I could still, at least, be friends with you. That I could at least help you because, you know, you deserved it. But now I know that I shouldn’t have. After finding you kissing- I should have just dropped you right there. Saved myself some heartache. Next time, well, I know better now.”  
“Then why are you still here?” I demanded, all traces of Jasmine escaping my mind.  
Brian finally met my gaze. His eyes shimmered with hurt and emotional exhaustion. I wanted to take a step back, but I refused myself the comfort.  
“It’s not for you if that’s what you think,” he replied.  
The words stung more than I had anticipated.  
“Ouch,” a voice inserted itself.  
Brian and I glanced down the hall to find Alek standing nearby.  
“And this is where I don’t use the bathroom right now,” he stated. He pivoted on his heels and started back towards the living room. “Even though Chloe took ages,” he added in a dramatic mutter.  
Brian and I just stared, unsure if to go on with our fight (heated discussion?) or not.  
“I know I don’t deserve anything from you,” I eventually said to the floor. “I have treated you beyond horribly.” From the corner of my eye I saw Brian nod as if in confirmation. “And you should never, ever forgive me for lying and keeping secrets and being weirdly evasive- and did I mention I’m sorry- and basically cheating on you-“  
“Basically?” Brian moved as if to walk away.  
“For actually cheating on you!” I spurted, causing him to halt.  
Feeling kicked in. I really did cheat on him. And technically more than once. How could I? There was no excuse for such a thing and, even as I did it, I knew that. I was a terrible person. And I needed to change something.  
Tears welded in my eyes. “I don’t know why I can be so stupid. I hurt you. Both of you-“ I pointed feebly to Alek’s back. He turned around, obviously having been listening.  
“And I cannot express how sorry I am. I do not deserve either of you. And I have realized that I need to figure my stuff out before I decide to ever date again.” As I said it, I knew it was true. I did need to figure myself out. I couldn’t fall into just any relationship that called my name. I needed to be emotionally stable and ready to trust and be trustworthy.  
“I understand if you guys dislike me with a burning passion. And you don’t have to forgive me so that I have a clear conscious. You should just move on with your lives and forget I ever existed for you sake.”  
“Ya like that’s possible,” Alek said sarcastically. He had inched closer to Brian and me.  
“I know that you and I have some problems to figure out first but after that I will step out of your lif-“  
“That’s not what I meant Chloe.”  
I looked up at him sharply. Brian stood stiffly between us.  
“It’s bloody near impossible to just forget about a girl like you.”  
“Wha-“  
“Just forget it,” he said suddenly, as if he hadn’t meant to bring up the subject at all. I stared at him in bewilderment.  
Brian glowered at Alek. And I knew he hated me. He had to. He hated that Alek still continued to sort of compliment me. I mean I didn’t deserve it right? I didn’t.  
“Anyway,” Alek said, as he began to cross us to get to the bathroom, “I’m just saying that I don’t hate you.”  
He shut the door behind him with a final click.  
Brian and I were left alone.  
“I don’t hate you either,” Brian muttered to my surprise, after an awkward silence ensued of course. His features softened just a smidge. Hot dang, I would take it!  
I forced him to meet my gaze. Steadily, I held it for a moment before saying softly, “thank you.”  
I crossed passed Brian towards the bulk of the house. But his hand grasped my upper arm.  
“I don’t forgive you,” he stated clearly. “I just don’t hate you.”  
“I know,” I said. “I know.”  
And I walked away, feeling as if I had been punched in the gut despite the achievements I had just made.


	2. Chapter 17

Chapter 17   
“How’d it go?” Amy inquired, as she rocked us back and forward on the balcony swing chair. The soft wind brushed my hair away from my face and cooled the intense unease I was feeling.   
“Good,” I replied, but quickly crumpled in to myself afterwards as reality sunk in. “Bad. Oh I don’t know!” I thrust my hands in to the crisp, polluted city air with a flurry of emotion.  
Amy patted me on the back gently, consolingly. “That’s okay,” she stated. There was a moment of silence aside from the thrum of cars down below, and the creak of the swing as Amy’s feet pushed off the ground.   
Part of me mused at the scene: typical best friend helping best friend with boy trouble.   
“Hey, it’s cool Chlo,” Amy broke through the quiet. “We all have boy troubles. I mean, look at Bella Swan. She was in a pret-ty similar situation as you. Two boys, two worlds, two-“  
“Oh my god,” I sputtered dramatically. “Oh my god.” I hit Amy’s shoulder. “Oh my god!”   
“What?!” She giggled, as she hid behind her arm, preparing for another blow.   
“YOU DID NOT JUST COMPARE ME TO CHEESY-TWICHTY MCGEE?”   
“Maybe,” she admitted in a small voice.   
“What’s wrong?”  
Amy ‘s and my head whipped around in surprise. Alek was standing rigidly between the newly refurbished glass doors; his expression was beyond serious. He looked ready to fight, and yet so ready to sleep too.   
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “We were just-“ I motioned to Amy helplessly.   
“Being girls,” Amy saved.   
Alek huffed and purposefully did not stifle an eye roll as he turned and marched back in to the house.   
“Woops,” Amy chuckled.   
My giggles were cut short by a knowing sigh. “He has every reason to be on guard right now.”  
A second passed. Our eyes automatically drooped shut. The breeze played with our hair, our eyelashes, and our cloths. The salty chill swept us away to another place, as did the consistent flying motion of the bench. I felt infinite. I felt calm. I felt capable.   
After a while though . . . .  
“So what are we going to do now?” Amy muttered quietly.   
I allowed one eye to peek at her.   
“About what?” I asked, though I already knew.   
The swing paused mid-decent. It was almost like we were suspended in the sky, away from everything so that I could gather my thoughts and finally work things out.   
“I mean about this,” and with that Amy’s hands swept past each other like a showgirl demonstrating a game show.   
Slowly, contemplatively, my other eye shuttered open. I had to control a gasp as I studied my best friend.  
As if I had been wearing 3D glasses up until now, Amy suddenly appeared to me like a child: dark bags weighed her eyes down, specks of red flecked the edges of her eyes, her cheeks were flushed a pale reddish yellow, and her shoulders remained tightly by the edge of her chin.   
God, what was I doing to my friends? We were all exhausted and ready to go home, real home.   
Sadness washed through my system, but so did determination. With fiery eyes I made contact with Amy’s.   
“We’re going to hold a meeting. Now.”

* * * * * * * *  
The sofa was packed. Alek sat on the edge; Jasmine squished between him and Brian, and next to that trio sat Amy and Paul. The other couch lay alone and seemingly forbidden. I stood near that couch.   
“Jasmine,” I whispered, as Alek stared off in the distance and Amy, Paul, and Brian participated in conversation.   
She had been staring down at her folded hands in her lap- a dull, distant stare.   
Slowly her head lifted up. “Are you okay?” I mouthed, careful not to embarrass her.   
She nodded. Exactly what I expected.   
“Come talk to me later,” I urged. She nodded again.   
Diverting my attention to the entire couch, I said loudly, “alright. Let’s get down to business.”  
“To defeat the Huns,” Paul added gleefully. Alek leaned further away from everyone. Jasmine did nothing. Brian raised an eyebrow. Amy giggled. I couldn’t help but smile.   
“Anyway,” I continued. “First official business of this meeting, I would like to say to you all, go home.”  
All heads snapped up.  
A tsunami of voices erupted.  
“We’re not safe-“  
“Chloe are you crazy?”  
“Your mom would be jeopardized”   
“Ya, why aren’t we home now anyway?”   
“What if Zane-“   
“The Order will-“   
“I will stay here,” I shouted above the clamor. “Alone. No more danger for all of you. Go home, you deserve it. I can’t keep putting your lives at stake.“ at that my eyes found Brian’s face. His expression was steady but bewildered.   
He stood up. “I don’t understand why all of you are here anyway. At first I thought, ‘hey, you are all just really close friends, and maybe Alek and Jasmine are college students and they rent out this place’. But then why do all of you keep talking about this one guy? He’s just a person. Why is he stopping all of you from living your lives? You are giving this, this bully (?) power over you like he wants. It’s stupid. Go home. I agree with Chloe, except for that she should go home too. It’s stupid.” With that, he plopped back down in his seat.   
There was nothing but quiet.   
“Because, you bloody idiot,” Alek spat eventually. “My ‘bullshit lies’ are true.” To me he said. “Chloe, what the hell are you thinking?”  
“It was worth a try,” I replied.   
Amy put a gentle hand on Brian’s shoulder and nodded. “Zane is more than just a ‘bully’. He’s a-“ she struggled to describe him. “He’s a-“  
“A monster.” I finished. “And he won’t stop until I am dead. Neither will the Order.”  
“This is crazy!” Brian shot up out of his seat.   
“I understand why you don’t trust me,” I said softly. “But, for the sake of your life, trust what everyone else says.”  
“For the . . . sake . .of my life? Chloe are you threatening me?”  
“No. No,” I sputtered. “I’m trying to save you from me.”   
“I’m going home,” Brian said. He roughly grabbed his jacket from the edge of a swinging chair, leaving it to twirl ominously, and headed for the door.   
“Wait!” I yelped.   
“No one can leave,” Alek stated. He shifted around in his seat to look at a frazzled Brian. Brian’s hand clutched the knob with deadly tension. “If you leave, they will hunt you down and use you as leverage to get Chloe. And she will give herself up for you. And then we will have to go after her. And either we will all die, or by some bloody way we will save your arses and live happily every after. But not without bloodshed and pain.”   
Brian’s grip loosened a smidge. “This is all real?” He asked faintly.   
“Brian I’m sorry,” I began. “I’m sorry I dragged you in to this but you were dead and I had no choice and now you have to let me protect you-“  
“Dead?”  
“Oh Jesus,” Alek muttered as he shifted restlessly in his seat. “This has become the Bloody Brian Show.”   
“How was I dead? And now. . Alive?” He leaned against the front door as if he might faint. “Chloe what the hell is going on?”  
“Remember when we went to the museum?” He nodded mutely. “Well, some bad guys, guys from the Order, they, they tricked me in to thinking my dad was there. They shot me,” my fingers crawled up my shirt and automatically found the indent in my stomach. A phantom aching sprouted. “You thought I was dying, so you ran up to me. We uh-” I glanced nervously at Alek. “We kissed. And I shouldn’t have. I mean Mi kisses are deadly! That is how I first discovered I was this creature and not human and you faded away, you grew cold, I held you in my arms and, and, we drove you here. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t leave your dead body on the bloody steps of a public museum, I couldn’t!” All eyes were on me save Alek’s. And it took me a second to notice how heavy my breathing had gotten. My head was beginning to spin. “I didn’t want to have to drag you in to this Brian. But now you’re here. And Zane knows that you’re here and he knows . . . “ my eyes became attracted to the floor. “He knows that I love you. And he will do anything to get to you in order to hurt me. Anything.” Brian’s hands were no longer on the knob, but his body was slowly slumping to the ground.   
“Chloe I-“  
Alek burst in to a standing position. “Okay, well now that we have that established what the fuck are we going to do about everything else?”  
Tears welded in my eyes at the lost look on Brian’s face. He was completely on the ground now, a heap of confusion and fear.   
“Go after Zane now?” Amy offered. “While he doesn’t know it.”  
“No,” Alek said. “Zane would know we were coming. Besides, I hardly think we are emotionally stable at the moment.” His eyes met mine with a cold harshness.   
“Stay here and do nothing?” Amy ventured.   
“That is getting us no where. You think your parents won’t call the cops soon? Anyway, Clary’s mom has already tried the cops and tried to find her lost daughter. Soon, she’ll be tracking her down and marching up these steps herself in order to figure out what the hell is going on.”   
Mom. The reminder sent a cold chill through my heart. I took a step back, as if I had been shot with an ice-covered arrow.   
“Find somewhere else to hide?” Paul ventured.   
“Hide? I’m done with hiding.” Paul winced. My voice came out harsher than I had anticipated. “I’m done with running. Zane wants me. Well, he can have me if that clears everything up.”  
“But it won’t Chloe,” Alek shot. He took an earnest step towards me. “They’ll torture you. They’ll study you like an animal. Then they will kill you until every one of your lives has suffered. And for what? The Order will gain too much knowledge; they will wipe out the entire Mi culture by starting a worldwide war. They will hunt every one of us down until they are completely in control and have no more ‘abominations’ tainting their world. Until they no longer feel threatened.”  
Amy was crying now. Paul had his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder.   
Jasmine looked dead.  
“No Chloe, you can’t just give yourself up. You are a symbol to all the Mi that still exists. You are a piece of hope that allows us to remember that The Order will not wipe out our entire family because we won’t let it.”   
“Alek I’m not that-“  
“Special?” He interrupted. “But you are Chloe. You are.”   
“I need some air,” Brian gasped, breaking through Alek’s and my stare down. “I need- I’m going outside.”  
“But-“ I started towards him.   
“I’ll be back,” he replied. “I just need to be alone.”  
“If anything happens-“  
“I’ll stand nearby.” Jasmine straightened up out of her seat. I studied her wearily.   
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes. We’ll be okay.”   
And with that, Jasmine helped Brian up and both their bodies disappeared out the open door.   
“Someone should keep an eye on them,” I said uneasily.   
“Later,” Alek replied. I couldn’t remember when, but somehow he had taken another two steps towards me. His body was only half a foot from mine. “For now, let’s devise a plan.”   
“To do what?”  
“Lure Zane to us.”


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3   
I woke up to the feel of secure arms wrapped around me. They were warming me up like a blanket, and I snuggled further into the calming human contact as if I couldn’t get enough. I wasn’t the least bit bothered that I had no idea whose chest I was leaning against. I was just too relaxed to care. An image of a familiar face lingered in my mind, but I whisked it away, too content to think and remember who that was.   
I shifted my body and winced involuntarily. The mystery-arms softened their grip, and disappointment flickered inside me. The arms hadn’t hurt me. It was my stomach, which had tightened when I moved. It pulsed with unexpected ferocity.  
I tried to brush the discomfort away by focusing on the sunlight that seeped through my eyelids. Sweet yellow and red colors danced in front of my eyes.   
Then a hand began stroking my hair. And that was all I needed. It was all I could think about. Heck, it was all I wanted to think about. Every brush of skin on skin sent electricity buzzing through me as the steady fingers delicately combed my hair smooth. Safe in these arms, I wanted to sink into deep sleep again. Sleep sounded good.   
My stomach pain turned into a dim heartbeat.   
Where was I? The thought barely concerned me. But I reached out my senses anyway; I listened to birds whistle nearby, I felt a cool wind swirling around my skin, I embraced the heat of another human as it seeped into me, I noticed the cushions soft beneath my body. Already I knew a couple of things: A window was open, I was lying on a couch, and I was perfectly safe. My closed eyelids grew heavier and blackness started to envelope me. I was in a perfect condition to sleep.   
But what was that stupid aching that kept me from slipping away? It felt distant now, but the fact that it existed annoyed me.   
I didn’t dwell on the pain for long before my focus reverted back to the fingers that toyed with my hair. The familiar face appeared in my mind again and I studied it; coarse muddy hair, soft brown eyes, sandy skin . . .   
“Brian,” I muttered, as giddy emotions whorled inside of me. A swell of hope filled my parched lungs. Affection fueled my exhausted limbs. I should have known he was here.   
But I hesitated to move as Brian’s hand stopped stroking my hair. I felt his chest retract from me as if he just realized I was a monster. My body was swept up into an icy vacancy. His arms grew rigid around me.   
Why would Brian shy away from me? Longing festered in my heart, causing it to flutter. My eyes flew open in confusion.   
“Oh no,” I gasped meekly. I had made a big mistake.   
Embarrassment heated my cheeks an ugly tomato red as Alek’s eyes bore down into mine. A harsh countenance overthrew his expression as he tried to mask the hurt he felt from my misjudgment.   
And then I was hit with a flood of memories.   
The realization hit me like a fist. I was frantic as I tried to clamber off of the couch- noting detail for detail as my eyes scanned Valentina’s penthouse; the very place in which Zane was attempting my murder- but I was overcome with nausea. My torso exploded with tear-invoking pain and the world around me started to spin as my head broke out into a headache. I was forced back into Alek’s arms. He didn’t protest. In fact I caught a hint of concern on his face as I lay against him. But Loving Alek didn’t last long.   
“Lie still,” he ordered mercilessly. I obeyed, unwilling to invoke any more pain or anymore of that cold voice.   
I took deep, careful breaths and eventually the nausea slowly subsided. But my head and stomach pounded with a ferocity that was too distracting. I laid my hands on my torso as if my touch could calm the sickness.   
Alek studied me for a moment, then realized he was staring. He suddenly became infatuated with a little ocean blue tulip that sat on the open window. It’s petals danced in the breeze like a ballerina; its leaves jiggled and swayed. I admired the tulip with him, lost in its enchanting power and grace.   
Then the moment flew out the window, taking the grace and serenity along with it. I felt like I had to say something.   
“Alek I-“ I began.   
“Don’t.”   
“But-“  
“Stop.”  
“Just let me-“  
“Quit it.”   
Frustration burned in my veins. I opened my mouth, prepared for another try at an apology and a little thank you.   
“He’s dead and you still love him,” Alek grumbled. The words drooped out of my mouth and flew into silence.   
Panic overwhelmed me.   
Who was dead? My thoughts began to race. I was exasperated by Alek’s calm indifference; his eyes searched the penthouse, carefully avoiding my physical existence.   
“Who’s dead?” I demanded.   
Alek scowled at me. “Amy and Paul are fine if that’s what you mean.”  
“It wasn’t actually.” I felt relief knowing that they were ok. But that calming feeling was separate from my rising anxiety and I said in a dangerous voice, “Alek, who. Is. Dead.”   
My heart began to race. Dread soaked my skin ice cold. Who else could it be, honestly Chloe? The thought festered in my head like a disease. No. No way. I saw him. He had reached his beautiful hand out to me and reassured me with his beautiful eyes.   
Upon feeling my reaction Alek’s face melted into deep concern. His eyes bore into mine with an intensity that made me look down at my shaky hands. He momentarily forgot his anger.   
“Chloe-“ he said softly, seriously.   
“Just tell me. Say it,” I urged. I needed him to say it or else it couldn’t be real.   
His eyes flicked over the other couch for half a second. But in that half a second I caught him in the act. Slowly, I started to twist around in Alek’s lap, but before my eyes could discover what lay on the other couch, Alek’s warm hand cupped my cheek and he pulled my head back to face his. His touch was warm, comforting on my skin. No, no Chloe, I thought frantically. Can’t have thoughts like that, not right now. Not when-  
“Why torture yourself?” He whispered.   
Oh god. I knew it.   
“B-but he was here,” I stuttered. My mind began racing a million miles. “I saw him, I swear to god Alek he was here fighting besides you in the kitchen. I watched you two work together to beat the crap out of Zane, I watched you, and then I found Valentina and Amy was there and Paul was-“ my throat grew dry. “He wasn’t . . . “   
“Chloe,” disbelief saturated Alek’s voice. “Paul was fighting by my side. Poorly might I add, he-“   
Tears welded in my eyes. Alek’s insult died in his throat. I knew he was going to attempt to sooth me, but nothing could possibly ease this pain as a hole was being burned through my heart.   
He sighed and remained silent for a moment. I watched his brows pulled together in thought, his eyes shift back and forward as if they were reading an invisible book. My eyes fell to his light pink lips and how they were-  
Damn it Chloe, I scowled inwardly. Are you serious? I was ready to cry a river and I was still having thoughts about Alek? How wrong was I.   
“It sounds like you were hallucinating Chloe,” Alek said after a while. “Between the bullets and the acid . . . . you endured a lot of pain.” I swear I heard admiration peeking through Alek’s words, but I was too preoccupied to be grateful, as reality grew fuzzy. All thoughts about Alek dissipated.   
I had been hallucinating the whole time. He was dead this whole time. I really was holding his lifeless, cold body in my arms when sitting on the stairs. Brian was dead.   
At the mention of his name tears swelled in my throat and I pressed my face against Alek’s shoulder hoping I could hide my emotions. What else wasn’t real? The thought made a shiver flow through me. Was Valentina really paralyzed? Did Zane really want to kill me?   
As if he read my thoughts, Alek said, “If you’re wondering, Valentina was on her death bed. But she’s ok now, resting. I’ll explain later. Jasmine on the other hand . . . “ uncertainty cut off his sentence. I could tell he was worried, so I didn’t press him for answers. The subject appeared tense.   
I did lift my head up though, with tears staining my dirty cheeks, finding that Alek’s face was terribly close to mine. He reached a hand out as if he were going to brush the tears off of my face, but he ended up combing his fingers through his hair instead. No, that wasn’t disappointment that flickered through me. Oh who was I kidding? It so was disappointment.   
“And Zane, did he-“   
A dark shadowed crossed over Alek’s features. “Yes,” he said flatly. “Zane tried to kill you.”  
“Did he?”   
“No.”  
“Did you-“  
“He got away.”  
“Oh.”   
I slumped against the couch, trying to rely more on myself then Alek. I needed to get away from him, at least for now.   
Relief sunk into me like lotion. I didn’t lose another life.   
“Thank you,” I said quietly. Alek grunted in response, clearly still hurt that I had mistaken his identity. How badly had that hurt Alek? I was scared to find out.   
I hugged a couch pillow tightly to my chest, conscience that Brian’s stiff body was behind me; conscience that Zane was still out in the world. I took in a deep shuddering breath, preparing to steady myself. I didn’t have time to break down or worry about boys, not when people were still looking to murder me and harm my friends. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I ditched Brian so quickly just because he was dead? I suppressed a shiver. God I had to get myself together. I knew I was stronger than this.   
“Chloe, you don’t have to hide your emotions in front of m-“   
The front door creaked. Our heads turned sharply to stare at the mundane piece of wood. My Mi instincts were still weak, but I forced them to be alert. I could feel my energy being drained out of me. Alek’s muscles tensed beneath me.   
The door shuttered open and a shadow flew across the ground, causing me to flinch in response. Upon seeing my reaction, Alek wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body tight against his as if he could protect me while sitting down. His embrace felt so natural. I mentally shook myself. I was a terrible person, realizing that I was in love with a dead person and suddenly falling for someone else a day later. Maybe more than a day. How long had I been out?   
“CHLOE YOUR AWAKE!!”   
The words shattered through my thoughts like a bullet and I jutted as if Amy could read my guilty thoughts. Alek’s arms jolted away from me and I scrambled off of his lap and onto the couch cushion next to him, smoothing down my hair and trying to control my cheeks. I turned around to face the door, desperate to ignore the second couch and I couldn’t contain my smile as my best friend’s bright face appeared from behind the door. Her arms reminded me of cloths racks, covered with four bags each of groceries. Paul entered the penthouse behind her, crinkling wildly as the plastic bags on his arms shifted around.   
“Since when did you grocery shop?” I asked skeptically.   
“Since now,” Amy stated proudly. Her eyes glazed over the second couch. “We kind of ate Valentina’s entire fridge,” she continued happily, as she set the bags onto the kitchen counter with a heavy thud. “So we had to go shopping for more.”  
I shot a look to Alek. “How long have I been out exactly?”   
“Three days,” he replied tersely. All of sudden he wasn’t able to look at me again. I gave an inward sigh. I’m sorry.   
“Three days? That’s not too bad.”   
“Always the optimist Chloe,” Amy chimed.   
And then she burst, unable to control herself as she waddled over to me and wrapped her arms around me like I was a gift. I was suffocating a bit as my face pressed into her chest, but it was a soothing sort of suffocating-hug. “How are you feeling?”  
Paul began to unsheathe the goods, revealing canned vegetables and bags of chicken nuggets. I smiled and rolled my eyes. I should have known.   
“Uh . . . “ how did I feel? Vulnerable, disoriented, conflicted, empty, crowded, lost, weak. The list went on.   
“Honestly,” I ended up replying. “I have no idea.”   
“Well, that’s ok for now.”   
“Ya. For now.” But what about later when questions needed to be answered and fights needed to be won?   
I found myself unconsciencly squishing my stomach, trailing over the places where the bullets hit.   
“Uh are the bullets still inside of me?” That would explain why I continued to hurt instead of heal like normal Mi’s.   
“No,” Alek muttered. Huh. “I took them out. Glad you don’t remember that.”  
“Don’t remember what exactly?” I asked skeptically. Everyone’s expressions turned grim, distant as they recalled what happened while I was asleep.   
“You, like, didn’t stop screaming,” Amy said with a shutter. “It was pretty awful.”   
“Well, if you don’t remember anything that’s great,” Paul chimed in. “Because man, when Alek laid you across the kitchen counter Amy and I had to hold you down and it was-“  
“Paul,” Amy scowled. “Be a little more sensitive.”   
Paul shrugged. “Sorry.”   
“Ouch,” I whispered, imaging the anguish not only I had gone through but everybody had. “I’m sorry for the trouble I cau-“  
“Damn it Chloe,” Alek said in exasperation. Everyone fell silent at the sudden outburst. “This is what friends do. Did you expect us to just sit there and watch you die again and then maybe again until all of your lives were lost and the order took over?”  
He didn’t wait for a response. Instead he propelled off of the couch in a huff and stormed out of the room. I stared at the doorway he disappeared through.   
“Uh, what was that about?” Amy asked. “Details, now.”   
“I- it’s- uh-“ but I didn’t feel like explaining.   
I wasn’t quite sure what I was explaining. “Later,” I said distractedly. “Did you happen to grab drugs or something?” My entire self was aching.   
“I’ve got your back girl.”  
She snatched a bottle of Advil from the counter and tossed it to me. But the bottle slipped right through my fingers and plopped down onto the couch with a soft rattle. I stared at it. How did I miss that? I should have been able to lunge and snatch a fly out of the air for crying out loud. I was Mi. These kinds of things just didn’t happen.   
“It happens to the best of us,” Amy offered.   
I grabbed the bottle and unhinged it, popping a couple pills into my mouth before saying, “I guess.”   
“Do you want to help make lunch?” Amy asked. I glanced at her, grateful for something as mundane as cooking. But I caught her eyes flicker to look at the other couch again. She shifted uneasily when she noticed me staring at her.   
I shook my head to clear myself of the surreal feeling that was starting to creep in. “Ya, totally. Anything to get me off my butt and away from . . . “  
“Ya, I gotcha ya.” Amy’s features softened and she held her hand out to help me up. I took it, soaking up my best friend’s strength and compassion.   
I felt like the bullets were still squirming in my stomach and I resisted the urge to throw up as I padded to the kitchen where Paul was filling up a pot of water.   
Be strong Chloe, I reminded myself. But I felt like my shields were snapping in half and I wasn’t quite sure how to deal.   
“Ya, cooking will be good for me,” I said to no one no in particular, hoping that I could somehow super glue myself back together.  
I prayed that I wouldn’t fall a part before I found the glue.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I stared at the greasy stove, my back to the living room, clutching a bowl of Mac 'n' Cheese in one hand and a cup of water in the other. Once again I was numb, petrified by my thoughts and what lay behind me.

I wasn't sure I'd be able sit at the dining room table, let alone face the opposite direction. I had woken up out of my stupor two days ago and still I didn't believe that I would have been able to get back up if I took a good look at Brian's body. Not yet.

In a day, I thought to myself. Just give yourself this last day to recover and then you'll be ok and you can see him. And everything will be ok. . . . except for the fact that Alek was pissed at me andZane was probably preparing another attack and I had said the same exact thing yesterday.

"Paul's waiting for me," Amy chimed next to me, holding her portion of Mac 'n' cheese along with her boyfriends. I shook my body, pulling my gaze away from the burner and away from my thoughts. It was dangerous for me to be thinking too much. My limbs felt they were flaking into dust. Soon, I figured, I would be a pile of used glue.

"Will you be ok?" Amy asked worriedly. "We won't be long. We just have to, well, explain in person to our parents why we have been absent from school and such. Phone calls weren't enough."

I shrugged and mustered up a smile. But Amy didn't look convinced.

"Ya I'll be ok," I replied.

Then my mothers face appeared in my mind and I squirmed uneasily.

Amy set a gentle hand on my shoulder, holding onto me like I was about to lose balance. But both my feet were steadily on the ground.

"We'll talk to her for you," she said softly. "Alek, Paul, and I spent all night trying to figure out what to tell them. It should be convincing enough." What else had I missed last night?

"Maybe I should-"

"No. We'll do it," Amy interrupted firmly.

"My mom's not going to believe you Amy, even if she is fond of you. She'll think I died or that I'm lying to her."

"Well, we are lying to her."

"Not helping."

"Sorry."

She rubbed my shoulder for a moment and added, "Are you sure you want to be here by yourself?"  
I raked my fingers through my grimy hair. God I needed a shower.

"Thanks for the concern, but I promise I'll be fine. Honestly, I should just be coming with you-"

"No. Stay here. Get some more rest and try to get your strength up."

Before someone else tried to kill me, I knew she was thinking.

I sighed, conscious that Amy wasn't going to let me win.

"Do what you can. But please, try to keep the emotional hurt to a minimal. I've screwed mom over enough with all this Mi stuff."

Amy nodded and gave me a light squeeze on my arm. "Will do."

I pretended I didn't notice her concerned eyes following me as she walked out the front door.

She glanced at me one last time before disappearing behind the wood, and then Brian and I were alone.

There was no way I was staying in that house any longer, so I kept my head stiffly in front of me as I walked, conscience of Brian's body on the couch. My eyes were focused on the open glass doors that led to a clean little balcony.

Tomorrow, I reminded myself. Officially take care of life tomorrow.

The vibrancy of the sun stole my attention as I took a step away from the penthouse. Relief eased into my veins at the feel of the warm rays on my skin. I took a deep breath of salty San Francisco air, letting it tangle in my uncombed hair.

I was grateful to be alone.

Ever since I woke up someone was by my side, hovering over me like I was a dam ready to crack and flood. The idea that everybody expected me to break convinced me that I was going to.

But now that everyone was gone, I felt a heavy release- a feeling of freedom- in my mind.

For the past two days I had been napping, mostly, with Amy and Paul catering to my every unasked for need. They were almost suffocating with their concern, but the more I protested the more they loomed around me.

I was done with sleeping and being babied.

The rest was obviously good for me, because my stomach was spotted with ghastly bruises instead of bullet gashes now, but I had done so much of it for a week that the urge to do something other than sit in the penthouse thrummed to life inside of me.

I was healing slowly for MI standards but healing non-the less.

I set my lunch down on a little glass table and settled on the creamy swing chair. The chair swayed carefully back and forward, soothing my simmering emotions. My fingers toyed unconsciously with the skin on my stomach.

I wasn't used to this, all of this emotion. Sure I was a teenage girl but even high school didn't require so many diverse and powerful feelings. All I had to focus on was passing chemistry, getting a date for Friday nights, and not losing my hundred-dollar calculator. Now . . . now I had to worry about not hurting everyone I love, about surviving another day, about defeating the order and keeping my head together, about keeping my mom oblivious, about assuring everyone I was ok. . About Alek and Brian.

I picked my fork up, embracing the cool that spread through my fingers, but the concept of eating seemed useless all of sudden. I tapped the metal against the bowl with a shrill clinking. I kept my focus centered on the noise, trying to find consistency in my life. It seemed to be the only constant, stable thing in my existence at the moment.

The sudden urge to crawl into my mom's arms and cry like a baby overwhelmed me. I wanted her comfort, her reassurance; I wanted to be told that everything was ok. I wiped at my eyes in frustration, feeling the tears begin to swell.

But instead of letting it all go, I glued the dam back together to hold my emotions in check.

How long would I be forced to shove away these tears and muster up strength? I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep pushing these emotions down. Soon enough my internal bucket was going to overflow and when it did, I knew I wasn't going to be able to control myself even in the worst of situations.

I was like a battery destined to be tossed into the dank abyss of a trashcan, all because I kept using my emergency power instead of giving myself time to recharge.

I didn't want to be thrown into a trashcan.

I frowned.

Was I going to have to fight for my life until I died by the hand of exhaustion, of natural cause, of another person? Was I capable enough to be the Uniter? How many people would have to die for me until I was killed or finally safe? How many people would I let down if I simply disappeared and ran away? Did I want to run away?

I tossed my fork into the bowl with a frustrated clang. God, When did I become so pessimistic? The feeling kept me on edge.

I hugged my knees to my chest as if I could protect myself from myself. And Zane. And the world. When did I gain so many enemies?

I took a steadying breath and rolled my shoulders a couple of times. I knew I was stronger than this. Sure a lot of crap had happened in the past few days and an endless list of questions was piling up unanswered, but I was Chloe King. I was capable of getting over the worst of life so I could keep moving forward.

Hope flickered in my mind and I closed my eyes, embracing the world that surrounded me.

I welcomed meditation; it sounded like the perfect remedy.

Car motors thrummed across the streets below me, exhaust filled the air with invisible pollution, music traveled through the wind . . .

I pictured an array of people hurrying to their next destination, worrying about the next solvable problem.

Little did they know that there was a word beyond their mundane one: my world.

The air felt sweeter as birds whistled nearby. The breeze felt like a fresh spray of water on my skin. The rhythm of the chair's swaying soothed me like my mothers voice.

Life was suddenly conquerable.

My jeans pocket vibrated.

Then again relaxation and confidence never lasted very long even when I believed I was human.

I dug Valentina's phone out of my pants; since mine was destroyed Alek insisted on letting me use it just in case something happened while people were running errands. That was all the contact we really had for two days.

The quaked violently in my hand as the word "Amy" glowing brightly on the screen.

I couldn't avoid this call, though the thought was tempting.

"Hello Amy."

"Chloe! Hey!"

"Is something wrong?"

"What? No way, I was just calling to check up on you." I could hear her VW rumbling in the background. Amy must have been driving to her house still.

"You left five minutes ago."

"Seven actually."

"Well I'm fine, thanks for calling! Bye-"

"Wait!" I slumped in my seat.

"Yes?"

"Did you eat your lunch yet?"

I glanced at my untouched Mac 'n' Cheese. "Yes," I said carefully.

"Chloe you need to eat!"

"How did you know I was lying?"

"I'm your best friend. Now eat."

"Yes mother."

"I'm not kidding."

"I know."

"Good."

"good."

"I won't be long."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"By mom."

"Bye by sweetie."

I hung up the phone.

God I loved her, even if she was causing a layer of annoyance to hover on my skin.

I leaned against the swing chair with a sigh, tapping my foot against the ground to rock it back and forward.

I let my eyelids fall closed again.

Hopefully Amy wouldn't call for another thirty minutes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
“What are you thinking about?”   
Zane?   
A shiver vibrated through my body.   
What the hell was he doing here? He came back to kill me, to taunt me, to kidnap me?   
Meditation time was over.  
My eyes shot open and my fists were clenched, readying to defend myself against whatever crap he had for me. To let all of my emotions out on Zane, God that sounded inviting, to prove to myself- to everyone- that I had the strength to handle not only me but the world surrounding me as well. Anticipation fueled my need to strike Zane in the face.   
But when my vision came into focus, I met disappointment and not Zane’s twisted grin. Guilt washed through me, overwhelming the anger that was rising inside of me.   
Alek was leaning against a glass door with his arms crossed firmly over his chest.   
I had mistaken him again. I had mistaken Alek for Zane this time. Was my brain really as screwed up as people acted like it was?   
I crossed my legs Indian style and sat up straight, as if I could assert myself more clearly with proper posture, pretending I hadn’t been ready to beat Alek’s ass.   
“What are you thinking about?” He asked again. Was he ignoring the fact that my fists were aimed for his head, or did he not notice that second of panic in me?   
“Just thinking,” I replied tersely.   
Alek smirked, rolled his eyes, and turned his head to look out at the stretch of city that surrounded us. “Alright.”   
“Alright.” I echoed.   
The flame of anger I had been stoking was flickering with energy.   
What gave him the right to know my thoughts anyway? I wondered defensively. And why did this whole issue have to be my fault only? He seriously had to come and ruin my instant of meditation . . . I huffed.   
I checked Valentina’s phone. I had made it thirty-one minutes without Amy calling me, without the world disturbing my thoughts.   
Well, at least it was longer than I had anticipated.   
An uncomfortable silence replaced my blissful moment of calm, and I was hit with the sudden urge to get up and take action. As long as it was helpful, distracting, and away from Alek, I was willing to do it. He was a tourist waiting for my dam to break anyway.   
A desperate idea popped into my head.   
Did Brian’s dad know his son was dead? A twinge of guilt buzzed in my chest. Would I even want to try and talk to him? God it was better than sitting here waiting for someone to speak. What was there to say between us anyway? I’m sorry that I have the same feelings for you, Alek, as I do for a dead human.   
That would totally work out, I thought sarcastically.   
Failing to ignore Alek’s presence, I stood up.   
In response, he pushed himself off of the wall and stiffened in front of the doorway, blocking my path like a sphinx waiting for me to challenge him.   
Grow up, I thought moodily.   
“Open sesame.” I ordered aloud.   
Alek’s face remained impassive.   
“Fine.” I said in exasperation. “Chocolate milk.”   
His muscles barely twitched.  
“Alek,” I sighed while trying to push past him. But, with arms still crossed, he flexed his muscles and closed the gaps between him and the door, which I had hopes of squeezing through. “Please let me through.”   
I waited a second.   
When he didn’t yield, I crossed my arms over my chest to mirror him.   
“What do you want from me?” The words came out harsher than I initially intended, but the harshness felt welcoming and strong on my lips. Alek’s eyes bore into me for an agonizing moment, scrutinizing me in silence. I stood my ground, staring back at him, unsure of what was going through his head.   
“I can wait here all da-“  
Alek’s hand cupped my cheek and without hesitation his lips were on mine, muffling the words that were ready on my mouth.   
I yelped in surprise.   
Vulnerable feelings exploded inside of me like a snowstorm, restricting my thoughts. My emotions were cold as they rushed through my veins but his lips were warm against mine, delicate, as he dared to kiss away the ice and bewilderment.   
I put my hand on his chest, a brutal protest rising in my muscles, but instead of pushing him away my skin melted into his V-neck and stayed still.   
What was I doing? I was insane.   
And yet I didn’t want to stop.   
“I want,” he whispered onto my lips. “I want to make you ok again,”   
I couldn’t control the shiver of longing, of compassion, that latched onto me.   
This harsh mi warrior was suddenly a vulnerable lover.   
Vulnerable. That was the perfect word to describe the way his lips caressed mine, as if he were pouring himself into me. I eagerly returned the devotion, letting the feelings of depression and frustration and weakness flow from me to him. I felt ok for the first time in a while. God, I was better than ok. Alek had chosen to trust me with his quiet fears and for some reason I trusted him with mine. Satisfaction seeped into me.   
My eyes fluttered open out of impulse and I smiled.   
But horror was slowly, subconsciously rising inside of me as my gaze focused on something in the penthouse. Behind the window, laying limply on a couch . . . It looked like a foot.   
Oh no.   
Reality swept through me, leaving all chill and no warmth. My insides were stripped of desire and peace.   
I gasped and hauled myself away from Alek, not giving him time to process what was happening. My lips froze the instant I pulled away.   
He was so taken aback that when I tried to shove him aside, I succeeded, stumbling into the house so that I could get away from him.   
Not even the homeliness of shelter could cease my bodies shaking.   
“Chloe-“ his voice was strained as he flipped around to look at me. His eyes were clouded with confusion. Confusion about why I pulled away? Or confusion about what he just did to me?   
My head was swimming. To be in Alek’s embrace. . . That was all I wanted. But guilt tainted my mind, reminding me that I wasn’t the type of person to forget about someone just because they were dead. Or maybe I was. I had just kissed Alek hadn’t I?   
What kind of person was I really?  
“Chloe.” Upon seeing my internal struggles his shields shot up. His eyes became solid, hardening with defense and frustration. I had caused that.   
Shit, he was causing my cheeks to burn and my eyes to blur.   
Alek took a step towards me.   
“Stop.” I ordered, before he could get any closer.   
His body grew stiff and yet he raised a curious eyebrow. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to control myself if he got too close. I think he knew it too.   
“So,” I began conversationally.   
I stared at the floorboards on the ground, trying to ignore Brian’s presence intruding on Alek and my intimate conversation.   
“We should . . . uh, figure this out.”   
“Figure what out?” The emotion in Alek’s voice was shut off, replaced by a warrior-like apathy.   
“Oh do not pull that crap with me Alek.” I was the complete opposite, as desperation bled into my words.   
Jasmine had warned me not to hurt Alek, and yet Alek was digging a hole in my heart.   
This was too much.   
“What crap?” God his accent was sexy.  
“Everything! I-“   
I paused. A rant was prepared to burst from my lips.   
But I knew that the emotion that was going to come out of my mouth wasn’t just about Alek.   
I forced myself to compress my feelings and shove them into the pit of my stomach again. My stomach was beginning to feel full. Bile rose in my throat.   
I shook my head in an attempt to compose myself.   
I refused to crack in front of him.   
“What is it Chloe?” Alek demanded. “What’s wrong? I understand that you have devotions to this dead human, but he’s gone. He’s gone.” Alek strode over to me, grabbed my shoulders with shaky hands, and he twirled me around. My eyes fell upon Brian’s rigid body limp on the couch. I was finally staring his chalky body in the face.   
“Look.” Alek demanded. “Look. Face this terror Chloe. You’re going to have to move on someday. I’m here for you and whatever guilt you feel for leaving him behind, let it go. Don’t you think Brian would want you to keep living your life? Not stuck to his nonexistent soul like some slave? If not, he’s a selfish bastard. Look at what is happening to you? You’re sinking into yourself Chloe, building up a resistance that is ready to break any minute.”   
“Don’t talk about him like that,” I shot, whirling around to meet his eye. My mind was beginning to race at an impeccable speed. “Brian is a good person.”  
“I never said he wasn-“  
“And why is everyone assuming that I’m going to break down?” I interrupted. “Does anyone believe that I’m strong enough to survive this life? Honestly, Paul and Amy and you are all acting like I’m losing a battle with terminal cancer when I’m simply trying to cope with grief. I can do this. Grieving is a natural process for any huma- for any living being. I appreciate your concern, but I’m not going to fall. I’m fine. I’m fine. I’ll be ok eventually. I’ll be-“  
“I believe you’re strong enough.” His voice had softened to a near whisper. Alek’s eyes were staring into mine, and his breath was moist on my face. I could tell he meant what he said.   
He delicately tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, revealing my heated cheeks.   
I wasn’t used to Alek’s softness. I had known it was there, but witnessing his compassion first hand was enchanting.   
“I have never doubted your strength Chloe. You’re the stronger person I know.”   
He paused; then continued quietly, “I want to be here for you. Let me.”   
I wanted that. What teenage girl didn’t? I wanted my long-lost prince charming to be there for me, to keep me safe and see me when I was vulnerable. I wanted to help him too, to make him realize strengths about him he never knew. But if I let my guard down now, would I be able to pick it back up later? And if I let my guard down to Alek, would I be making a mistake for the future? I didn’t want to have to rely on someone, especially when the Order was coming after me. I needed to be strong enough to fight for myself, to defend those I loved.   
“Unless you don’t want-“ Alek began uncertainty. His shields were slowly rising again.   
I pressed a finger to his lips, and pursed mine in concentration, daring him to keep his shields down for me until I could sort my thoughts out. He obliged; his eyes remained a liquid brown. His eyes were sweet like hot chocolate.   
I glanced back at Brian. Alek was so right about everything, and yet he was so wrong. “I do . . . want” I said carefully.   
But I didn’t know what else to say. It didn’t feel easy to say that I wanted to be with Alek, and yet I really did. But were my feelings based off of loneliness? Depression? Reality? He released my arms and took a step back.   
Then he took in a deep, readying breath. “I think. .Chloe I think I lo-  
He paused and cocked his head to the side. “Did you hear that?”   
My guards flew up. “No. Hear wha-“  
“Chloe.” The voice was a dim whisper.   
My body stiffened.   
Oh God, someone was in the house.   
The fact that, until now, Alek and I didn’t pick up with our senses a third person in the room unnerved me. Our emotions were getting in the way of survival.   
“Hello?” I muttered tersely.   
No response.   
“I don’t think the person will respond to you, especially if they want to kill you Chloe.  
“Doesn’t hurt to try.”  
“It could.”   
Alek gently pushed me behind his back. A protective air overthrew him as he searched for the mysterious threat. Last moments sentiments were forgotten. The Mi warrior was back.   
“Reveal yourself and we won’t hurt you as brutally,” He demanded.   
“That’s any better?” I mumbled.   
I shrugged away from Alek’s grip, determined to hold my own if someone was here to get me. I needed to transform into a Mi warrior as well. There wasn’t time for me to be a damsel in distress. My senses pulsed with unused energy.   
“Reveal yourself,” I repeated, studying the balcony for an intruder. But nothing moved outside except for the birds.   
I peered into the hallway that led to the bedrooms where Valentina and Jasmine were. But the only thing moving was a shadow dancing across the wall because of the hall light.   
“Chloe.”   
“What?”  
“Chloe.”  
“Alek what-“  
He twirled me around so that I was facing the living room.   
I was facing the two couches.   
And what I saw caused my head begin to spin.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
Brian’s dead body gasped, gulping for air as if to fill his parched lungs. His chest thrust into the air and then flopped back against the couch like a fish out of water.  
My knees threatened to buckle and I was grateful when Alek snatched my elbow to prevent me from tumbling to the ground.   
Brian’s previously ashen skin slowly filled with color, as if a make-up artist had touched it up for a movie scene.   
“Chloe?” Brian wheezed. He looked like he was suffocating.   
I started for him, but Alek wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me against him and away from the living human that sat before me.   
“Don’t Chloe,” he ordered as I struggled in his grasp. “What if it’s a trap? What if Zane or-“  
“A trap?” I knew Alek was restraining me for more reasons than that. “He may be dying again. What if it’s not a trap? Let me go Alek! I have to help him. He can’t die again because of me!”  
But, even as he hesitated because of my last comment, Alek refused to release me.   
Brian shrugged into a sitting position on the couch coughing into his hands. His eyes blinked incessantly, as if he were trying to clear a fog in his vision. His hair was tasseled as if he had taken a long nap; his outstretched legs were flexing and bending to rid themselves of aching. His chest rose and fell with each heaving breath.   
Shit. An icy chill swept through me. Was I hallucinating again? My fingers toyed with my stomach subconsciously.   
No, Alek obviously saw what I saw.   
I searched Alek for answers, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Brian even as he restricted me against him. The blood had drained from Alek’s face, whether out of horror or annoyance I wasn’t quite sure.   
“Do you see-“ he began.   
“Yup. I’m not hallucinating?”   
I had to ask.   
“Nope.”  
“How do you suppose-?”  
“I haven’t the slightest idea.”  
“Does this happen-“  
“Never.”   
Upon hearing our voices, Brian glanced in our direction. A dim smile played at his lips when he registered it was me.   
His coughing had reached its peak, and was beginning to subside.   
Was this the effect of reawakening from death? I wondered.   
After an uncertain moment, sensing relative safety, Alek released me.   
But I was petrified, unable to move even if I wanted to. I remained by his side. And as stiff and reserved as his body had become, he remained by mine.   
“Wow my head,” Brian croaked. He began massaging his temples, trying to rid his brain of an oncoming headache.   
“Brian?” I whispered. How was this possible? Mi kisses always resulted in certain death to humans. Certain death was defined as sleeping for eternity with no breathing, talking, or blinking involved. And yet here Brian was doing all three.   
He was alive. Then dead. Alive by hallucination. Then dead again. Now alive.   
My emotions felt scattered to the point of causing a stomachache.   
And what made it worse was that not only was I feeling the anguish of murdering him, but also before this whole endeavor existed, Brian hated me because I had gotten caught kissing Alek. . And I had just done it again whether Brian’s eyes were open or not.   
I was torn from my thoughts at the sound of a vicious cough attack and found Brian’s gaze on me.   
Well, he was alive and he was himself.   
So far.   
I wanted to believe that that was all that mattered, but there was more to the situation than simple affections.   
My eyes flickered to Alek.   
“Man I feel like I just climbed a ten thousand foot mountain. Shit,” Brian mumbled.   
He tried to stand up, to be on my and Alek’s level, but his wobbly legs forced him back onto the couch. He looked at his legs in confusion, like they were supposed to do what they were told no matter what. But not moving for a week could do a lot to a person.   
He took in a deep, rejuvenating breath to try and stable himself.   
“God Chloe its so good to know your alive.” Relief was evident in his every fiber. God its so good to know your alive too, I thought wearily. And it’s beyond utterly bizarre.   
“Alive?” Alek asked skeptically, taken aback and pissed that his competitor was breathing again. “Why wouldn’t she be- oh.” A shadow passed over his face as he recalled the moment he extracted bullets from my torso.   
Brian’s expression hardened and his body grew rigid at the sight of Alek. It was if he was noticing him for the first time. Maybe he was. “What is he doing here?”   
“This is my house,” Alek lied flatly. “Welcome I guess.”   
I gave an inward sigh.  
“Why am I at his house? Are we still in San Francisco? Chloe, why are you standing there like nothing has happened to you? Shit, we need to make a police report-“ Brian tried to stand up again, but Alek mercilessly forced him to sit.   
“Lay off me man,” Brian barked. Unresolved loathing was vibrating in the air between them.   
“Brian,” I said tentatively, hoping Alek would could keep his head and avoid a battle. “You were de-“  
“Knocked out by a couple of bastards who were trying to steal from the museum you took Chloe to,” Alek interrupted crudely, not hiding the accusation in his voice.   
“Chloe can speak for herself,” Brian shot. Alek’s muscles tensed and his eyes narrowed.   
“Ya, I know that pretty well thanks. As I was saying, we brought you back to my place for safety. Calling the police was unnecessary because by the time I came, the culprits were gone and there’s nothing they could have done about it.”   
Brian didn’t look pleased at the idea of me having made Alek my first choice to call. I gave Alek a reproachful look.   
His eyes, now heavily guarded, responded slyly: He’s a human.   
As if that explained anything.   
I rolled my eyes, begging him to keep his cool.   
He took a step away from Brian and folded his hands behind his back, proving his loyalty to me.   
“Gone? So what? All you had to do was call the damn hospital to help Chloe’s wounds and leave it to the police to catch the-“ I wanted to shrink under Brian’s suddenly intense gaze. “Chloe why aren’t you at a hospital? Why aren’t you in a bed right now recovering from gun shot wounds?”  
“Gun shot wounds? Brian I never-“ but the lie was failing me. So was the glue holding my pieces together.   
Tears of frustration welded in my eyes. Be strong Chloe, I reminded myself.   
“You were hallucinating,” Alek recovered. “They conked you on the head pretty badly. Just on the way here we had to convince you that Amy isn’t an alien. You nearly tackled her dead. So I would like a thank you in the near future.”  
Over dramatic? I eyed Alek. He smirked in response.   
“Fuck I’m confused,” Brian muttered.   
“Just rest Brian. That’s all you can do for now,” I offered. Guilt was hammering into my chest like a nail. I didn’t want to lie. I was sick of lying. But it seemed like our only choice. And if lying got Alek and Brian away from each other faster, I almost welcomed it.   
“You’re telling me to go to sleep? After we just witnessed a robbery and were assaulted, are you nuts? Chloe you can’t be siding with this lunatic?”   
“Oh get over it. Chloe, come with me.”   
When a protest sprang to my lips Alek added in a whisper, “You look faint. Are you ok?”   
I felt faint.  
I guess I wasn’t the best at hiding my emotions.   
“Ok ya I’ll walk with you,” I said, avoiding Alek’s question. I turned to Brian, unsure if I wanted to jump into his arms or run away.   
Feeling Alek’s presence beside me though caused me to feel uncomfortable. “Get some rest. It’ll be ok,” I said. “We can go over what happened later and decide from there if we need to do something about it. But right now, the chances of action are slim. You’ve been out a long time, so someone has bound to notice something went wrong.”   
Brian sighed, accepting that he lost the battle but discontent with the results.   
“Chloe,” he said softly, intensely. “How do you expect me to believe you after you broke my trust?”   
I felt an invisible hammer slam into the nail that had been poking at my heart.   
“I- I don’t expect you to.  
Unsettled, but unsure of what to say, Brian leaned back into the couch and stared at the wall in front of him with a thoughtful expression.  
The conversation was over for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
“This is impossible,” Alek said as he clicked the front door shut. He pressed his back against it and stared at the cream colored wall ahead of him. He raked a hand through his course hair. “We need Valentina. She’ll have answers.”  
“Has she woken up yet?” I inquired. “How’s Jas-“  
“-Valentina should come to any day now.”   
“And you know that how?”  
“Because I’ve seen the dart Zane shot her with. Most don’t survive from its poison but considering we found her before it took over her brain, we had barely enough time to purge her blood.”   
A memory flashed across Alek’s face.   
A memory of helping Valentina, or was it of another time he had encountered the poisonous dart?  
I began to wonder.  
He had saved my and Valentina’s life that night. What else had he done that I didn’t know about?   
But I didn’t have time for extra pondering I had to remind myself.   
I started to pace the apartment building hallway, scuffing my bare feet on the dirt-red vintage carpet. I glanced in both directions. A stretch of hall extended further than my eyes could see . . . .   
And Alek and I were not alone.   
An elderly woman in a leaf green hand-knit sweater was waddling away from us, peering at the apartment numbers that were pinned to the doors as if she were looking for someone or she had forgotten where she lived. As if she felt me staring, the woman looked behind her questionably and, upon seeing me, smiled sweetly. I smiled back, grateful for her kindness. She clutched her drawstring purse tighter in her hands and waddled on down the hall.   
Alek kept his eyes trained ahead of him, seeing past me whenever I paced by.  
“Alright,” I said, keeping my voice tight and low. “Alright, alright, alright. Somehow Brian is alive-“ just saying that phrase caused dread and excitement to explode inside of me like fireworks, and in that instant I was back into focus “-SO, why? How?”  
“You’re accepting this quite well,” Alek observed tartly.   
I knew that if I didn’t force myself to, the results would be catastrophic.   
“You’re not,” I replied.   
He opened his mouth, shut it, and then opened it again.   
He pursed his lips and pressed his cheek against the door so he could stare down the serene hallway, away from me but where the woman continued her hunt. I pretended not to notice.   
“Maybe he’s a zombie,” he said finally, crossing his arms protectively over his chest.   
“A hybrid human zombie! That would make him dangerous then . . . ”  
“I was joking.”  
“I’m not. Anything is possible. Like you said earlier, this could be a-“  
My pocket buzzed. I halted to a stop.   
“Who is that?” Alek shot.   
“Who else?”   
“Amy,” he groaned, as if her mere being was a nuisance to his existence.   
I flipped the phone open and put her on speaker.   
“Amy, hi-“  
“CHLOE!” Alek cringed at the yippy sound of her voice. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call earlier to check up on you.”   
I glanced nervously at the old woman afraid Amy’s voice would echo down the walls.   
“Its ok, really. Could you keep it down a little? We-“  
“How are you doing? Did you eat you’re lunch? Are you lonely? Do you need me to drive faster?”  
“No, Alek’s here but-“  
“Alek? Huh.”  
“Huh?” Alek grunted.   
“I just got back from your house,” Amy continued without explanation. “And we have a problem.”  
“Just fantastic,” I said distractedly. “We also have a-“ Could I call it a problem? The fact that Brian was living was a miracle, a trick, a fluke . . . The fact that Brian was supposed to be dead and wasn’t, that was a potential issue. Then again, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe he simply was a freak accident or he was strong enough to deflect the Mi effect somehow. Yay him!   
I knew I was being hopeful.   
Amy took my hesitation as a welcome for her to keep talking.   
“You’re mom . . . Well you’re mom defiantly didn’t believe us. She demands that you come home. Like now.”  
My face fell in dismay. “Wait, what?”   
If my mom didn’t believe Amy and Paul, that meant she was so going to kill me as soon as she saw me. Of course, after she hugged me to death, resurrected me, and then yelled at me first. I had been away from her for too long I knew. Homesickness was beginning to thrum in the back of my mind.   
“Ya. She knows Paul and I were trying to cover up for you, for what reason I’m not sure but she’s furious and freaked out and-“  
“Amy we have a more important situation to take care of than a mother daughter relationship,” Alek interrupted. He met my eyes, a brief apology flickering in his irises’.  
“Uh, ok. Well Paul and I are on our way back so-“  
“Brian is alive.”   
The receiver fell silent. Static hummed ominously in the speaker. The rumble of Amy’s VW engine filled the hollow silence.  
Way to be blunt Alek, I scowled.   
I tapped my hands furiously on my thighs, unable to control my growing anxiety. My mind was racing, causing time to slow to an uncomfortable pace. Each moment passed by like my internal clock was stuck in molasses.  
I seriously did not want to go home to face her.   
But a grim reality told me that I was going to have to. The longer I wait, the more worried and distressed and angry mom will be . . . . I thought uncertainly.   
But Alek was right, wasn’t he? My mom’s feelings weren’t as important as all this crazy Order business, which could ultimately effect the entire Mi race and then maybe the world.   
Mom was a part of the world after all.   
Couldn’t I just sneak into the house, hope my mom would be too distracted by relief to yell at me, and then sneak out? Five minutes. That all needed. All I had to do was put some ease into her mind and then get back to business.   
But what if’s filled my mind like Zane’s poisonous dart. What if mom had the police looking for me? What is she was prepared for me to run again? What if she cornered me and forced me into my room without negotiation? What could I do then?   
There’s always one thing I could do.   
I could tell her the truth. The idea of releasing all this craziness, of not having to lie, of getting advice from the one person I could trust . . . god that sounded inviting.  
A wave of bitterness washed over me. Of course, I would be risking her life by doing that. Not to mention there’s always the possibility of rejection. My mom could call me a freak, call the cops, and then send me on my lonely way. But would she really do that? I didn’t think so. But it was possible.   
Fear kept my feet rooted to the spot.   
“Ya, I know,” Alek sighed to the phone, breaking through my thoughts and the forever-stunned silence.   
“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Amy shrieked, loud enough so that speaker grew fuzzy. “How should I feel about this? Oh my god. How is this possible? What? Oh my god! W-O-W. Wow. This is-“  
“Crazy cool!” Paul’s voice chimed in.   
“No Paul, defiantly not cool. Do you know what this means?”  
“Uh, Brian isn’t dead?”  
“NO, almost the opposite! The Orders little henchy men that Chloe defeated-“  
“Hey, I did too-“  
“-Might see Brian alive after having seen him kissed and then dead-“  
Alek froze. His jaw clenched. He had a hand on the doorknob and I watched in horror as his knuckles became snow white with tension.  
I guessed he never wondered how Brian died; he just cared whether or not he was.   
Guilt brought a chill into the hall and I wrapped my arms around my waist, balancing the phone and holding myself together at the same time. My eyes met the elderly woman’s crinkly one’s as she glanced back again. She was almost within perfect earshot, especially with her hearing aid plugged in. She grinned, I mustered up a polite smile, and then she turned away and continued carefully in the opposite direction.   
“-And you know what they are going to do?” Amy’s voice continued. “They are going to come after Brian because the Order is going to be confused and freaked out as to why this human, kissed by a Mi, is living when he should be dead because there could be more like him or he might not be entirely human or Chloe could have powers they are unaware of. Also, he’s going to make a great hostage.”   
Oh god, I hadn’t thought of any of that.  
I should have just let Brian go! I was selfish for thinking otherwise. I should have just let him go.   
“Where did this sudden burst of insight come from?” Alek said what the rest of us were thinking.   
“I’m pretty sure I saw it happen in a movie,” Amy replied through the phone.   
“Should have guessed,” Alek smirked.   
“We need to take precautions if she’s right,” I began slowly, straining to keep my chaotic emotions out of my voice. “I can’t believe I dragged him into thi-“  
A heavy crash in the apartment stole my attention; dread filled me up like a half empty cup. What now? I thought with a tired sigh.   
Alek leapt away from the door, caught off guard like a cat who was startled while in the middle of a grooming session.   
“What was that?” Amy asked sharply.   
“Not sure,” I mumbled. Everyone stopped talking, listening intently to the eerie quiet.  
When nothing sounded from behind the door again I said cautiously, “Amy, we’re going to have to call you back.“  
“Chloe King don’t you dare hang up I’m two blocks awa-“  
I canceled the call and shoved the phone into my pocket.   
The hallway fell silent.   
And the silence ensued.   
“Maybe we’re just on edge,” I said after a while, unnerved by the way my voice filled the entire hall.   
“All four of us?” Alek replied bitterly.   
I shrugged helplessly.   
Then I raised my knuckled to the door, preparing for a knock. Alek caught my wrist in his hand before I could hit the wood. The warmth of his fingers was blazing on my skin like a bracelet.   
“Wait,” he muttered. “How do we know Brian’s going to answer?”  
“Well, we don’t. So let’s find out before time escapes us,” I snapped.   
Alek grimaced in response, and let my wrist drop limply to my side, almost like he was disgusted with the idea of holding it anymore. I stared a head of me. Was I disgusting in his eyes now, after I had technically cheated on both Alek and Brian, despite neither of them having asked me out in the first place? All of sudden I felt like I was covered in a sheet of dirt, like my physical appearance really was gross.   
Alek wrapped his fingers around the dark brown knob and tried to creep the apartment door open.   
To our slight surprise, it didn’t budge.  
Someone had locked the door.   
Maybe Brian really was a human zombie hybrid after all. Or Zane really had come for me.   
F.   
I sighed, sure of what I had to do now. I knew who I had to put first, but I couldn’t convince myself to say it.   
Instead, I whimpered to myself, I’m so sorry mom, hoping she would feel my pathetic mental vibrations.   
I couldn’t leave now, not when Brian was a mystery and the Order would be coming after me and Brian soon enough and Zane could be a bastard and find out where I lived and take my mom as . .a . . hostage . . .   
Oh hell no. Now I defiantly couldn’t home.   
Frustration wiggled inside of me like a tapeworm.   
Ew Chloe. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of a nasty image.  
What am I doing? Focus, I barked. Jeesh, my head was a mess.   
“We’re not just being over dramatic and making up the fact that something is wrong right?” I asked Alek.   
“We could be.”  
“You’re reassuring.”   
“Alright, I guess on the count of three?”   
It took me a moment to understand what was he talking about. But when I did, I couldn’t contain the eager grin that spread on my lips. The mere thought of breaking down a door with simply my foot left exhilaration coursing through my confused and chaotic veins. Sure Valentina would probably make Alek and I pay for it, but in that moment of unalloyed confidence I would feel like some super cool CIA agent and not some distressed teenage Mi.   
“Three is such a clichés number,” I mused.  
But Alek wasn’t in the mood for joking, and I shouldn’t have been either.   
“Fine,” he huffed. “On the count of four then.”   
“Alright.”  
“Alright.”  
“One,” Alek began carefully. “Two . . Th-“  
Out of the corner of my eye a blob of green the color of broccoli stole my attention. It appeared to be nearing Alek and I like a slowly moving Power Chair.   
I cursed as realization dawned on.   
I couldn’t believe I was about to break down a door with a witness beside me!  
“Wait,” I ordered Alek.   
He was nearing the end syllable of four, with his leg raised in the air as if he were trying to keep his balance on a tight rope. His muscles were clenched with tension, with emotion, with eagerness to kick the shit out of the door.   
“Chloe, we don’t have all day here,” he scolded. “What if that noise really was something, then Brian could be long gone with-“  
“We have company,” I said through my teeth. I had plastered a smile onto my face, glancing between Alek and the little old woman wearing the hand-knit sweater who was now waddling our way. I guess she had discovered she was going the wrong direction the whole time.   
Suspense was bottling inside of me like coke and Mentos. I played with the skin on my stomach, starting to worry about Brian who was alone behind the locked door.   
Alek glanced behind him and, noticing the woman, turned to me so that his back was to her. He closed his eyes, looking as if he were trying to meditate his anger. But I knew it was more than just anger at me. It was also anger at himself for having lost control and let his emotions narrow his awareness of his surroundings. I wanted to put my hands on his shoulders, to press them down so that he knew he could relax. I even wanted to- dare I admit it- kiss away his pain.  
I shoved the thought away. I had more pressing things to worry about.   
“Hello ma’am,” I chimed warmly, distracting myself from distracting thoughts.   
“Why hello dear,” the woman chirped. Her voice sounded as venerable as her skin.   
She was only less than a yard away now.   
“Do you need any help? I’ve noticed you seem to be looking for an apartment.”   
“Oh, you are so sweet for asking.”   
She peered at Alek and I and took a few more steps toward us before adding, “but I think I have found exactly where I want to be.”   
“Oh,” I said, slightly confused. “Ok. That’s good.”   
She was only ten feet away now, clutching her little red handbag. She reminded me of sweet, adorable old people and of Christmas and joy. Her curly white puff of hair was pulled back in a neat headband that matched her bag. And a smooth silver cross dangled from her neck. I wanted to hug her, to embrace her musty perfume and remind myself of compassion and positivity and family.   
“I have found exactly who I need thank you,” the woman said, almost as an after thought.   
“Wait,” Alek said slowly, turning to face the woman. “Who?”  
But we were too late in realizing what our sense should have picked up. Instead of seeing the woman, Alek came face to face with her beaded handbag. He cursed as the bag smacked into his nose with an innocent, but harsh, rattle catching Alek off guard so that he stumbled backwards into me. I fell onto my butt, stunned.   
Happy feelings gone.   
“God will not accept people like you in heaven!” The woman wailed.   
“Holy shit the order is recruiting old people now?” Alek said in a muffled voice, as he pinched his nose with two fingers to stop blood from cascading down his body. The woman raised her bag and smacked Alek in the shoulder so that he winced in pain.   
“Boy, I was a part of the Order since my mother bore me in 1939! God bless her soul.”  
“I can’t believe I wanted to hug you,” I said in exasperation as I steadied onto my feet and pulled Alek away from her. “Lady, we’re just like you!”  
“Just like me?” The woman sputtered with a laugh, sending spit flying in all directions. “You may look like a human, but you will never be one. Do not kid yourself dearies! You are nothing like us normal people.”  
I flinched. “You don’t need to do this-“  
“Chloe,” Alek muttered. “She’s been an order member for almost a hundred years, she won’t change her mind now.”  
I opened my mouth to protest, but the sound of shattering glass pierced my ears as if a window had broken beside me. I shivered, anticipating cuts to form on my skin.   
But no, I realized with sudden urgency that something unknown was still going on in the penthouse. Were we too late? An imaginary movie of Zane breaking into the house, discovering that Brian was there and not me, swam in front of my eyes. I saw Zane’s twisted grin and heard his unexpected but giddy laughter as he found a new, bulletproof way to keep himself in control. He would be able to control me then, wouldn’t he?  
“Alek, Brian-“ I began in a flurry.   
“Stay. Here.” Alek choked out.   
I was taken aback when my vision cleared and I saw Alek struggling to keep a pocketknife (Was that what the woman kept in her handbag? How had she moved so fast?) from slicing his throat. The little old woman was looming over him, forcing Alek into a crouch as his arms shook with effort to keep the weapon away from his important arteries. How could a woman from 1939 be so strong?   
“I don’t think I can fight an elderly woman,” I confessed shrilly.   
“Fine!” Alek thrust the woman into a wall. I cringed at the sound of her back cracking like wood. I never thought I would see this. Watching Alek fight a grandma felt wrong, almost sick.   
“Go inside then!”  
“Dearie, I would choose me over what is behind that door,” the woman said, revealing the barest hint of being winded. She used her bag to deflect Alek’s fist that was aimed for her stomach. Alek was oblivious to her comment, he was all fight and no thought now.  
I watched as Alek’s bloody nose dripped onto the woman’s sweater.   
She glanced down, then glared at Alek with the utmost hatred. “My granddaughter made me this sweater you inhumane pompus!”  
“Pompus? Grandma you need to-“  
“Alek, don’t fuel her fiery,” I ordered in a rush.   
“Chloe why are you still here?”   
He was right.  
Ever since Brian woke up my mind was working double time, but my body had slowed down to a dangerous speed.   
“Right,” I muttered. Well, whatever was behind that door, I was just going to have to face it.  
I twirled around myself and, without a seconds hesitation- god I had been waiting for this moment for too long- thrust one leg into the door with a heavy thud.   
But the door didn’t open. I slumped my shoulders in defeat. The wood had shuttered in its frame, but remained annoyingly intact.   
“Are you serious?” I mumbled.   
“Chloe come on!” Alek barked. He pushed the woman against the wall and strode over to Valentina’s door. Effortlessly he kicked his booted foot into the middle of the door. The lock gave way, the wood cracked, but the door refused to open. Alek raised his foot for one more punch.  
“Wait!” I bellowed. Having Alek and the old woman’s gaze on me caused me to shrink into myself like a child. “Can I do it?”   
Alek pivoted on his heels without a word and stalked off towards the old woman.   
I didn’t want to watch them battle. I didn’t want to see Alek’s scowl.   
Instead I tried to thrust my foot into the door again, letting out an overjoyed yip when the wood moaned and leaned into the penthouse.   
Check that off my bucket list!   
But my joy didn’t last long.   
In fact, as I peered through the gap that was in between wood and frame, I felt the shadowy darkness of the penthouse suck out my joy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8   
I clambered over the splintered front door with quiet precision, plunging into the vast darkness of the penthouse.  
And, like a pressure pad, as soon as my toes pressed into the wood flooring, Alek’s grunts of effort ceased and the woman’s beaded bag stopped rattling. Almost like an invisible barrier stood between them and me.  
All of sudden I was alone.   
That wasn’t a good sign.   
I pressed my back against the nearest wall with my muscles braced, prepared to fight. My chest rose and fell like clockwork as I made my breathing shallow. Anticipation caused the hairs on the back of my neck to bristle.   
It was odd to me how not a piece of furniture was out of place (if you didn’t count the broken door.)  
If I hadn’t known Zane was nearby, I would have thought that nobody was home. The residents had just gone for a quiet dinner down the street and they would be back soon.   
I remained stiff, knowing otherwise.   
I waited, but time steadily ticked away.  
Slowly, my eyebrows rose.  
Either the old woman was bluffing or whatever it was that was behind the door had disappeared because the only thing in the room was me. Well, that I could see.   
My suspicions rose like a flame.   
I knew it was pointless but I let my eyes revert to the living room.  
My last bit of hope deflated.   
The couches were empty, vacant, alone, unoccupied, open for business. Shadows danced across the cushions, basking in the growing moonlight.   
Wasn’t that what I had expected?   
Then why were the shadows growing darker, squirming with ominous urgency, not only on the couches but also all around the house? Almost like they were participating in an ancient sacred ritual.   
Of course, they were only shadows; I was being silly.   
I sighed and slumped against the wall like the darkness in the penthouse was sucking away all of my strength.   
So Zane had Brian now. Great. Fantastic. Perfect. I had failed again. I had basically killed Brian for a second time, third if I felt like deepening my despair and adding the time I was hallucinating his aliveness.   
“What am I going to do now?” I whispered. I seemed to be causing more trouble than saving people from it.   
I scanned the penthouse helplessly, unsure of what to do with myself.   
The lights had been switched off, the house was silent; the balcony door was shattered causing the curtains to billow in the salty San Fran breeze like ghostly arms reaching for my soul.   
Take it, I wanted to shout. Take my soul! Let my loved one’s live and just end this with me.  
But of course I didn’t. I didn’t shout at the curtains. What had they ever done to me anyway? Besides, I would have given my position away to Zane. Wherever he was . . .   
And where he was Brian was.   
My fingers toyed with my stomach.   
Brian. He was probably confused as hell. Freaked out. Tormented. Pissed at me. Pissed at Alek.   
I took a deep breath. I couldn’t afford to crumble now. I couldn’t leave Brian in Zane’s grasp (If he dared to hurt Brian he better watch out.) It was up to me to bring Brian back to his normal, mundane life. It was that even possible. And step one was to muster up my strength, to refuse to give up, and to go beat the shit out of Zane for ever thinking he could break me.   
I pushed off the wall. I had to do something.   
With my newfound determination (though it wasn’t much,) I scanned every inch of my surroundings again. I was careful to profile each of the lively shadows that lingered in corners and beneath furniture, but none of them wore a sly smile on their expressionless faces. None of them reminded me of Zane.   
Either I had missed the party, I concluded, or I was in the middle of a trap.   
Sadly, the latter was most likely.   
But nothing had happened yet.   
Why? Did he expect me to walk into a certain part of the house? Was he waiting for a queue? Or had he already left? Was I too late?   
Or. . . or was Zane not even here in the first place? Maybe it was someone else who had broke in.   
It should have been obvious that the last question was irrational, considering I could feel Zane’s presence near me, but I was starting to doubt my senses. I couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.   
And I couldn’t wait forever. So, when it obvious that Zane (Or whoever it was) was not in the main part of the penthouse, I began shuffling towards the only other direction I could go: to the right, down the hallway to the bedrooms.   
My toes slid across the wood as I transitioned from one part of the house to the other. Photos of Valentina, Jasmine, and Alek were hanging on the hallway walls lighting up the darkness. As I studied them, I felt like I was injected with an overwhelming sense of sadness. When had these pictures been taken? Valentina and her daughter side by side in a park, Alek and Jasmine tackling each other while laughing hysterically, Alek and Jasmine playing board games, all three of them- young when comparing them to the present day- stuck on a cold roof during an aggravating training session. When did Alek stop playing innocent board games? Was his feeling for Jasmine more than just brotherly love? Was Valentina ever truly proud of her daughter?   
Even in the one picture of Jasmine and her together in the park basking in the sun, I noticed, an almost disapproving glimmer was in Valentina eyes as Jasmine stood a foot below her smiling like that day had been perfect.   
Was my mom going to be like now, disappointed all the time? Because I deserved it, for lying and sneaking out and keeping my true life hidden from her.   
And yet, why was it my fault? I hadn’t asked to the Uniter. I hadn’t asked to be Mi. It wasn’t fair that I had to disappoint my mom just because the stupid universe decided that I was speci-  
“-I can see it now, can’t you?”  
I came to a rigid halt, feeling like I had hit an invisible wall.   
That voice- that traitorous voice- that floated through the air like asbestos.   
“-Yes Valentina. A world in which Chloe King does not exist, a world where Mi do not exist.”  
Chills ran up my spine. My muscles were threatening to shake.   
Zane. I’m not crazy. I’m not wrong. He was only a few steps away, hidden behind a partially closed door.   
Valentina’s bedroom door I realized dimly.  
Jasmine’s door was shut tight like he had assumed she was already dead.   
For all I knew, maybe he had killed her and she was already dead.   
“And of course, a world where you do not exist either. I expected to come here finding you snug in a coffin already, leaving behind three little distressed Mi’s that would easily burn under my touch. But I guess I just have to kill you now.”  
“I admit,” Zane continued. “That I hadn’t expected Alek to disarm me that night. I thought I could kill the Uniter, you, and your daughter in one try but I had misjudged Alek’s love for Chloe. But that wasn’t the only reason I didn’t beat his ass to the ground. I had been emotionally compromised during my mission. I should have planned on destroying your family another day but I had foolishly insisted on doing it that night. I curse myself for having failed and for running away like a coward- which I am not.” I flinched upon hearing his deadly conviction. “But I won’t this time, I promise you Valentina. I am one of the orders greatest assets. And Alek will be second to go.”  
Whoa, Zane was an arrogant bastard. How did I miss that? Oh ya, he had all of us fooled with his cutesy boyfriend act.   
And Alek. His love for me. Did he really love me? At our age, were we even capable of love? I liked him . . I liked him a lot but did that mean I loved him? Did I love Brian? If even Zane could see Alek’s affection that was bad very bad. That meant I was getting in the way of Alek’s life. I was jeopardizing his life by leading him on . . . I hope he was doing ok against that woman.   
I gulped, and held one hand to my mouth so that I could force my breath to be silent. My heart was beginning to race. Adrenaline was quickly tunneling my vision. I needed to keep focused.   
Then a thought occurred to me.   
If Zane was here, where was the surprise the old woman had talked about? Taking care of Jasmine? In the hallway with Alek? Hiding in Valentina’s bedroom until Zane gave the orders?   
I glanced behind me nervously; feeling like the hallway was stretching longer and longer, forcing me further away from Alek and civilization and into darkness.   
My veins were pulsing with blood, blood that yearned to shed other blood, Zane’s blood before he could so much as touch a hair on Alek’s beautiful head. I could sneak up behind Zane right now, I could shove the door into his body and I could tackle him to the goddamn ground and claw his throat out.   
No! I’m not a murderer, I reminded myself crudely, even though a part of me was willing to become one just to stop Zane from causing anymore suffering.  
I’m not, I’m not, I’m not a murderer.   
But I had to do something.   
Before I knew it I was standing in front of the bedroom door, my fist clenched and ready to knock the wood into Zane’s back to incapacitate him. My breathing was so low that I had to remind myself to fill my lungs. Fury heated my cheeks. Intense anger I had never experienced before was coursing through me, dangerously fueling my actions. But, even though I knew it was stupid, I let it. I welcomed the aggression.   
If there was something besides Zane and Valentina in that room, bring it because I was ready.   
In that moment, I didn’t care.   
I wound my fist back, ready to punch. Ready to let slip all of my pent up emotions.   
“Chloe!”   
No. F-ing. Way.   
My arm fell limp against my side.   
“Join us, I hope you enjoyed ease dropping,” Zane said through the door conversationally.   
He should not have known I was there. There was no possible way he could have known I was there. He was human after, he was-  
And then it clicked.   
Oh. My. God. Zane is the-  
The door flew open, revealing Zane’s normal looking smile. Valentina was on her bed, eyes closed, lying on top of the blankets like she was preparing to die. Pitiful mentally insane Zane, pretending she was actually listening.   
“How are you Chloe?” He asked while crossing his arms over his chest.   
I gulped. “Better now that I get to kick your ass,” I replied shakily.   
But my words meant nothing now. Even I didn’t believe in them. All of sudden my fury, my aggression, my need to kill was sapped out of me. All of sudden I felt like a helpless child staring into a dark, never ending bedroom closet waiting for the closet monster to engulf me.   
All of sudden I didn’t know what I was up against.   
The woman was right. Behind the door was something much worse than her.   
Zane.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9   
“Where is he?” I demanded, hoping that my voice didn’t reveal the agonizing despair that was cultivating in my blood. I wanted to clutch the doorframe beside me and cry deep heaving sobs that would release all of the insanity- all of the confusion- that now a day consisted of me. But no, I was already obviously weak kneed; I couldn’t let Zane know that I was becoming weak minded as well. I couldn’t afford to become a pile of used glue, not when Zane could sweep up my pieces and puzzle them together to create his own design.   
I will never be an object for Zane, I vowed silently. Not a corpse, a prisoner, and especially not a puppet. Never.   
But, as much as I didn’t want those things to happen, the way he presented himself caused doubt to flicker in my mind. I hadn’t been able to recognize the difference in his appearance when he had attacked the penthouse almost a week before, but now, face-to-face, it was plain to see what had changed about him. Zane held his shoulders back, his head tilted at a slight upward angle, as if he were a king instead of some peasant human. His eyes swirled with intricate and malicious ideas, plans, and thoughtfulness. The corners of his lips were tugged up into a constant unnerving smile like he knew that he was going to win whatever it is he wanted to win one way or another.   
But that wasn’t the bulk of what entranced my attention really. It was the fresh, thin but bulging line that peeked out from beneath his dark grey polo. I could only glimpse the tip of the scar, but I could imagine it brutally dragging down from the crevice of his collarbone down to the top of his stomach.   
What the hell was that a product of?   
Zane’s eyes bore into mine, and it didn’t take him long to realize what I was staring at. Casually, he smoothed down the collar of his shirt just enough to cover the scar, and pat his chest as if he were tucking away a sleeping baby. I was surprised he didn’t flaunt his scar like it was some royal crest imprinted on him. Why did he want to hide it?   
My Mi senses pulsed with his energy, tasting and discovering and documenting wave after wave of the darkness that emanated from his body.   
How had I not noticed his aurora before?   
Oh ya, I was preoccupied with bullet wounds in my chest.   
But before that? Was Zane human when we went to the carnival? When he dated Jasmine? He had to have been there hadn’t been any indication of something inhuman before.   
Uhg so many questions! I wanted to scream.   
But I forced myself to meet Zane’s intense, humorous gaze instead.   
God just looking into the depths of his psychopathic eyes was unnerving to me. I felt him scanning me like an x-ray, prodding and poking into my every thought and emotion. Was he? Could he see through my stiff muscles into the raw child that was inside of me? I hoped not with a burning passion. If Zane could read me as easily as a book then how was I supposed to fight him . . . it . . .this mysterious enem-  
Wait, hadn’t his eyes been a sweet ocean color before?   
Before . . .   
Before he betrayed every one of us.   
He hadn’t been smiling because he thought we were fun to be around. He hadn’t gone to the carnival because he wanted to have a good time. He hadn’t taken silly pictures because he was just another San Francisco boy.   
He had never been our friend.   
He had never truly liked Jasmine.   
I had never thought I could feel true hatred. But here I was finding aggression seething in the back of my mind, waiting for me to give the command to strike. I was ready to take revenge.   
The idea freaked me out and yet I welcomed it, desperate for something concrete and strong.   
Yes, I was sure of it now. Zane’s eyes were blue back then, back when he was human.   
Now . . . now they were a sloshy brown color. The color gave me a distinct impression of corruption.  
What has the order done to you Zane? I wondered silently, almost sadly.   
More importantly, what was I up against?   
I was face to face with Slender Man, unsure of the severity of the opponent but certain of the freaky-factor he possessed.   
“Wherever you left him last I’m guessing,” Zane replied with a shrug, dragging me back into reality. “He’s probably in the hallway still playing patty cake with grandma like a good little boy.”   
“Patty . . . cake?” I muttered dumbly.   
“Oh.” I shook my head furiously. “You know who I’m talking about, stop play-“  
“That woman, she is something,” Zane interrupted like I wasn’t in the middle of a sentence. “I found her in my grandfathers old phone book, among a surplus of other Order member names, some long gone and some still in the country. Sly devil grandfather was, if you know what I mean.” Zane let out an emotionless chuckle and gave me a little wink. I restrained the sudden urge to gag.   
If he was trying to divert my attention from Brian, it was working.   
“Ya well it isn’t her fault she’s crazy,” I said defensively.   
“Oh?” Zane’s eyebrows rose up delicately.  
“She was born into the life of anti-mi, her family was probably racist against blacks too back then. That’s all she’s known.”  
“Ms. Chloe King,” Zane said, like he was announcing me for a beauty pageant. “Always forgiving and always looking at the brighter side of life.”   
“Not always,” I shot back, like being optimistic was a childish fantasy. The way Zane made it sound, it was.   
“Chloe, I have a story for you,” Zane said suddenly. He began to leisurely pace back and forward in front of Valentina’s bed. I opened my mouth in protest but he sliced through my thoughts.   
“My grandpa was something of a leader,” he began. My eyes followed his every move. “He was in world war two of course (who wasn’t?), and he came home with a relieved smile on his face and patriotic medal on his chest ready to kiss his wife for the first time in years. And what does he find? Sweet little grandma had left him for some ass-hat. She had spent all grandpa’s money on some ridiculous wedding with her new lover, she had stolen his house, eaten his food, and worst of all, assumed he was dead as all those other forgotten soldiers were like she had no hope for him from the start. She was surprised when he came knocking on their door, oh ya was she surprised. She tried to apologize, to explain to my grandpa why she did what she did. Her lover was special she had told my grandpa. He wasn’t like the rest of us. He was strong and agile and his nails grew at impeccable rates. He was enchanting, someone she could never resist. Oh my grandpa was torn into pieces, he was a sobbing wreck. But it wasn’t long before he became angry at his wife for doing what she did. He followed her new lover to discover what was so special about him. And that was when he happened upon the Order for the first time. And in the growing town of San Francisco, my grandpa became the most dangerous and well-known hunter in the western hemisph-“   
“Oh shut the fuck up Zane,” I shot, breaking the trance that had pulled me into his tale. My impatience was beginning to coat over my fear and I forced myself not to fall for his lies. “Stop pretending you can pace on your long preppy legs and tell a lie without me knowing. Tell me where Brian is now and I won’t have to shove your head into the hard wooden door!”   
Zane didn’t flinch at my threat. He merely placed his hands into his front pockets, studied the ground, and halted his pacing with a shift of weight to his toes.   
Silence ensued.   
Oh boy did my confidence drain as quickly as it had filled me up. The glue that was keeping me together was beginning to thin from the acid that settled in my fears- The acid, along with the bewildered smile that was beginning to melt onto Zane’s face.   
“Brian?” He said quietly to the ground. “Brian, Brian, Bri-”   
“Stop saying his name,” I spat, daring to take a step towards Zane. The way Brian’s name rolled off of Zane’s tongue like a ploy, like a demon, like a new abuse-able toy, made me sick.   
“Why does his name sound familiar?” Zane mused. “Was he that lengthy boy whose girlfriend had to push him into the fight? The Asian kid who I nearly killed with one blow? The human who-“  
“No,” I said sharply.   
My muscles were beginning to shake.   
I was beginning to learn what boys felt when they needed to punch another guy in the face.   
“Sorry, I don’t know a Brian then.” He shrugged his shoulders carelessly. “Your Mi friend is probably dead by now if you have to resort to asking me where he is. The order has people everyone now. They seek, they find, they destroy. Soon enough the mi will be extinct. That, or he ditched your ass. Or maybe he-“  
“Brian isn’t a mi you ass hole!” I blurted impatiently.   
Zane’s head shot up.   
I clamped my mouth shut with my hands, digging so roughly into my lips that I could feel blood seeping into my mouth.   
Zane was no longer gazing casually at the carpet. Instead his landfill eyes were staring intently at my face as if he could find the answer he needed from my screaming thoughts.   
OH.  
SHIT.   
What did I just do?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
I pushed off of the door and lunged at Zane with a wild battle cry.   
My body gave way to primal instincts when I had no lie to offer him about Brian- I felt cornered, lost, trapped, more so than I ever have in my entire life. I felt nearly defeated- so I turned into a wounded gazelle that thought it was smart to leap on a hungry lion. What else could I do to protect the one’s I love other than kill the source of the harm?   
But my primal instincts were wrong.   
Two mistakes in thirty seconds. Wow I was getting good at that.   
“I thought you liked Alek,” Zane grunted as he thrust both his arms in front of him. My bones rattled inside of me, threatening to crack as I collided with his arm’s that, when connected, resembled a brick wall. I crumpled to the floor in a surprised heap.   
Holy mother-   
He stood over me and shrugged indifferently before jamming his elbow into my vulnerable side.   
“GAH!” I bit back a scream as my feet and head tried to reflexively meet halfway. My side exploded into a spasm of pins and needles as if Zane’s bones were made of metal bars and his skin of a billion microscopic knives.   
And he was just toying with me.   
What kind of strength did he have when he was really fighting?   
I shoved down my growing unease and forced myself to stand up. But before I could steady my feet Zane’s knuckles pounded into my left ear. A high-pitched ringing filled my head as I stumbled backwards, through the doorway, and into the hall wall.   
A picture frame thought it could cushion my head but it shattered beneath the impact and shards embedded themselves into my skin with painful ease.   
And that’s when they started to come back: The stupid, little black ants in my vision.   
Panic shivered through me. This shouldn’t be happening. I shouldn’t be getting weaker right? I should be healing. Why wasn’t I healing? It was almost as if I were a human.   
Chills rushed through my blood.   
It was almost as if I were human.  
“But then again, people are always attracted to what they can’t have,” Zane mused to my distant form.   
He now loomed in the doorway of Valentina’s room- Valentina remained sleeping behind him, oblivious to the chaos around her.   
“Poor love sick Alek. Does he know? Maybe ill just have to find this human-“ Zane took a step closer towards me.   
“And,” he drawled dramatically. “Do Alek a favor. After all he did give me a good fight the other day.”   
“Don’t you d-dare,” I wheezed pathetically.  
I couldn’t remember the last time I was out of breath. That felt like years ago, when mom didn’t have to worry because I disappeared and math homework was my worst enemy and I could kiss a boy without killing him three times.   
Zane slammed his hand into the wall beside my head, causing it to vibrate, and me to flinch. I stifled a groan as the glass sunk deeper into my skull. The black ants were marching frantically in front of me, obscuring my sight and my balance. I felt like a little kid on a boat, wobbly on the deck as the waves raged beneath me.   
But I wasn’t even moving.   
Zane’s face took on a hint of malevolence for the first visible time that night; his eyebrows appeared bushier, his jaw sharper, his lips thinner, and his eyes filled with the blackness of his pupil’s. And I really feared for myself for once.   
Before, dying hadn’t been as scary because I had nine lives to spare, but looking into Zane’s determined gaze, I felt like I could die in an instant. I felt like he could snap my body into two, just as easily as any human could die by a fall or a bullet wound.   
“Chloe, Chloe, Chole,” Zane said through my haze. “I haven’t even shown you half of my potential yet but here you are, whimpering like a pup. You are cornered, and desperate, and broken. You have a pretty face, but this pitiful state just doesn’t suit you. You are at your weakest while I am at my strongest and all I had to do was let love take its toll on your silly human-girl heart. Maybe I should . . . . “ His face twisted into a mock look of indecision. “-well no, I won’t put you down just yet. Maybe this will do you good, this suffering. Besides, we still have to find Brian don’t we? Can’t have the confused little human wandering around on his own now.”   
When I remained silent, Zane took that as an invitation to present a final blow to my gut before pushing off of the wall and away from me. He started to waltz down the hallway, a smirk tattooed on his face, and me doubled over like the sad pup he described; the conversation was apparently over.  
The black dots were filling my eyes to the brim.   
I knew that if I tried to run after Zane, I would end up on the floor in an exposed heap. But if I didn’t, he would get away and all hell could break loose. Either way, in this instant, the good guys would lose.   
I remained still, unable to will myself to try.   
God, he was right. Zane’s judgment was completely right. My chin hung low against my chest in submission. What else could I do when I was this pathetic heap?   
I couldn’t help the defeat that forced my eyes closed. My forehead was beating in time with my heart, threatening to explode and destroy my mind.  
I had let my emotions get in the way of survival again.   
And Zane was quickly slipping out of my grasp.   
“Wh-what are you?” I choked out quickly, before he could disappear for good.   
He pivoted on his heels to study me. The moonlight that reflected off of the balcony doors created a milky halo around his body. I could see the ominous figure through my lids.   
Slowly he confessed, “I don’t know.” I could almost feel him give an open armed shrug and a smile. “But it’s pretty damn awesome.”   
He took a step further into the living room, half consumed by darkness and half in light. “I wasn’t lying by the way,” he added over his shoulder. And then he melted into the shadows of the penthouse, just as if he were one.   
I remained still for a moment longer, listening to the penthouse’s emptiness that overthrew my thoughts. Once I was sure Zane was lost to the busy night of San Francisco, I slid down the wall with a grimace and rested my pounding head into my hands.   
Soon enough, the black dots consumed me.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11   
I jerked into consciousness, my back ramming into the wall with an abnormally loud thump- one that echoed heavily throughout the area and reminded me of just how alone I seemed to be- and found myself on the dark hallway floor of the penthouse, right where Zane had left me.   
I was really getting tired of the getting-knocked-out thing. Not knowing how much time has passed really sucked. I mean, how would I know that the world around me wasn’t stuck in some apocalyptic zombie rager while I was sleeping? Or that The Order hadn’t succeeded in exterminating all Mi except for me? Or my mom had had a heart attacked from my bad behavior and is in the hopsital dying?  
Ok, overdramatic I know but seriously when I am surrounded by so much lonely darkness, metaphorically and literally, how can someone blame me?   
Besides that cheerful set of anxieties, being unconscious meant I was still not recovering well. That meant something was wrong with me. Fantastic! A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Here lies the The all powerful and sacred Uniter, not murdered by her enemies but weakened so much that she mysteriously faded into nothing.   
How pathetic.   
I stretched my legs out in front of me with an ache-induced groan and continued to lean against the wall, too exhausted emotionally and physically to get up (What’s new?).   
The picture of Valentina, Alek, and Jasmine was crumpled on the ground beside me. Their smiling faces were punctured by shards of glass. The night’s shadows were taking granted of the situation and slinking around the picture as if to suck away any light and happy feelings. I delicately picked up the photo as if I could save it.   
“What are we going to do?” I whispered to my Mi family.   
I sat in silence for a moment, hoping for an answer but knowing one would not come.   
When my judgment was confirmed, I leaned my head against the wall with a sigh and started going over the last week in my head. Maybe if I attempted to sort out my thoughts, just maybe, the world would see I was trying and forgive me for my lack of 100% effort lately. And possibly, I hoped, some answers would spring up.   
Okay. This goose-bumps craziness began when Cyber Dad started emailing me.   
1\. I (Me, Chloe, this girl right here) screwed up my relationship with Brian (And Alek- don’t forget Alek)   
2\. I thought I was finally going to meet my dad at the museum but he turned out to be a super-lying-loser-in-black-with-terrible-catchphrase-skills (What a let down. . . sooo then where is my real dad? Cue daddy-issue-pain again).   
3\. I got shot (Note to self: Never, EVER get shot again). Brian and I kissed (Happily ever after?). Brian died (No, just a true Grimm fairy tale).   
So far, so Chloe-normal   
4\. Zane tried to kill me (Back stabber -_-). He almost killed Valentina (But she’s alive and in a coma because of Alek)  
5\. Alek kissed me (and I went along with it.) But then Brian woke up alive (Yes, Chloe that is usually what waking up inclines . . .more importantly, HOW IS BRIAN ALIVE? I mean, no one told me I could potentially have special powers. Most likely, it is because no one has seen this before. Great, a class A freak to freaks.)   
6\. Zane broke into the house (No surprise,) using a gazillion year old grandma to distract us (I guess because she contained surprising amounts of strength and resilience. . speaking of Grandma, I desperately hoped Alek was alright).   
7\. Zane is some super-freaky-hybrid-human boy (What the hell was that about? To stop me I guess. But more? Zane’s eyes, so power hungry and confident. How did the Order give him crazy strength and who knows what else? I guessed I couldn’t be too taken aback, considering not too long ago I found out I wasn’t human)  
8\. Then he left. He talked to a veggied Valentine, showed off a bit, and then left. 

What was he here for if he didn’t want to finish Valentine off and kill me or steal Brian?   
Brian.  
A cold chill swept up my spine. Stiffly, I straightened my back against the wall and searched the creepy darkness of the house as if Brian were playing hide and seek with me.   
I messed up.  
I really, really, really messed up. Zane had no idea who Brian was. He hadn’t known Brian existed. And I gave it away; I put Brian in danger even though that was the thing I feared doing most. Now Brian couldn’t leave my side. Now he would surely find out I am a hard to explain creature and despise me for lying and killing him. I could never face him again if he did end up hating me.   
If he did ever leave . . .I shivered and wrapped my arms around my waist: One more casualty on my head, one more loved one hurt because of me.   
I halfheartedly peered into the darkness again. If Zane didn’t have Brian, where was he?   
Part of me hoped he had instinctly run away, went back to his dad, forgot about me, and continued searching for the truth about his mom. But another part of me, the selfish part, was hurt by the idea that he would do such a thing.   
I glanced down at the picture that I hadn’t noticed I was beginning to crumple in my hand.   
Either way, I had to find Brian. I owed it to him to protect him from my world, the one I brought onto him without his permission.   
I smoothed out the photo. Valentina’s grimace was better than the stony figure lying on her bed. And Alek’s smile; I let my fingers linger on his face. If only he could smile again like that. And Jasmine-  
A distant clatter caused my thoughts to pause.   
My head shot up.   
“Alek?” In the vacancy of the house, my whisper sounded like a shout.   
No response.   
I clambered onto my knees, scanning around me like a meerkat would scan the prairie.   
“Allleeekk?”   
I perked up as the sound of shuffling sounded from the wall behind me and bounced around the emptiness.   
I peered into Valentina’s room. Through the crack of the door I could see her body continuing its rest as it had been. I dared a glance into the bulk of the penthouse. Zane’s shadow did not appear to be present amongst night’s army. I was convinced he was long gone by now.  
I couldn’t imagine someone other than a hide and seeker hiding behind the bathroom shower curtain, but I hoisted myself up with considerable, aching effort and sauntered to the end of the hall to swat the plastic sheets away. The shower, suddenly looking extremely inviting, was by itself.   
That left only one room left.   
I pivoted on my heels and strode to the final door, the one across from Valentina’s: Jasmine’s bedroom.   
Dread filled my stomach. The idea hadn’t stuck me until then, but Zane could have brought more Order members with him; one to keep each of us occupied and monitored. And by the sight of Alek’s evasiveness and concern, Jasmine didn’t seem up for a fight.   
No time to lose then.   
I refused to let someone else down.   
With one hand raised in a fist, and the other clutching the knob in preparation, I didn’t hesitate to shove the bedroom door open.   
“Jas-“ I began, with a determined expression. But the “mine” drooped from my mouth, and the expression morphed into one of surprise, as I studied the scene before me. My fist unfurled, and my shoulders relaxed just a smidge. However, I wasn’t that lucky, a new tension replaced the old.   
To pairs of eyes were blinking at me from the corner of the bedroom, not a monster or an old lady or Zane.   
I was surprised to find the human and the Mi were tucked away between the bed and the wall as if they could cuddle away the problems of the world.   
Brian looked bewildered as his brows furrowed in concern. But he wasn’t looking at me; he was staring at the ball of person he was crouched next to. Jasmine lifted her head, which looked like it weighed as much as a bowling ball, and looked at me with water filled eyes. She had tearstains drying on her cheeks and a distraught twist of the mouth. Brian had an awkward, uncertain hand resting against her hunched and quivering shoulder.   
At least I knew Jasmine was alive, and just where my missing link had gone.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12  
I opened my mouth to speak; to let loose a hurricane of questions and uncensored comments and updates and-  
But Brian’s intense look bottled my words, and I was forced to choke the plastic down. The container slid down my throat and plopped into my stomach with a heavy splash. Oh man, I could feel a tummy ache coming on.   
As if someone had oiled the rusted bones in Brian body for the first time in decades, his head gave a subtle shake in my direction. However, his brilliant (ALIVE- sorry . . . not sorry. I just couldn’t believe it yet!) eyes didn’t linger on me more than they had to; rather Brian’s focus was trained to the shadowy corner of the room where Jasmine sat in a messy ball of human despair.   
Pushing the rising jealousy into the bottle in my stomach was difficult, especially when I noticed Brian’s warm hand gently rubbing the nape of Jasmine’s neck. Sometimes his fingers, steady with concern, toyed with the collar of her wrinkled t-shirt.   
And I wished so bad that that was me beneath his touch. I wanted so bad to give up for a day and cry in Brian’s arms and watch overly happy movies and cook pancakes for dinner. But I couldn’t.   
Yearning struck me in the chest like an icicle and I leaned against the doorframe to hide the shiver that was escaping me.   
My eyes trailed down Brian’s secure arm, to the tip of his delicate fingers, to the black raggedness of Jasmine’s shirt, to-  
I crossed my arms over my stomach and scowled at the ground.   
Seriously Chloe! I thought harshly in frustration. Jasmine needs you right now, snap out of it!!   
Besides- sadness lurked in my blood- Brian’s touch could never be mine again. Brian could never be mine again. Not if he was to stay alive.   
At least, I pretended to assure myself, I got to spend time with him at all.   
Tears threatened to bleach my face. I blinked what felt like a thousand times, desperate to be strong.   
“CHLO- JASMINE?!”   
His voice broke through my mind, blew away my tears and caused a fresh set to build behind the dam.   
Before I could move though- before I could hug him and chant “he’s alive!”- Alek’s body shoved passed mine, through the doorway and into the bedroom. He stuttered into the room with a wild wideness to his eyes.   
Faint blood splatters were painting multiple decorative strips on his pants, his shirt, his face, even his hair. (What the hell happened between him and grandma?)   
“Get away from-“ he began to shoot at Brian. But Brian’s presence seemed to be easing Jasmine, and Alek’s storm settled into a pour as he scrutinized the pair. His chest rose and fell with heavy intensity. Even he wouldn’t stop Brian from doing something good for Jasmine.   
After an adrenaline filled moment, Alek’s eyes softened, his concern for Jasmine momentarily extinguishing his pride.   
“How long has she been awake?” Even though my voice was soft, the words ominously sliced through the quiet.   
All eyes reverted to me, as if I was been the one who had just walked in unexpectedly. I retracted into the hallway, suddenly embarrassed, like I wasn’t supposed to ask silly questions.   
“Brian,” Alek said, though his eyes remained on me. “Help me get Jasmine onto her bed.”   
Brian didn’t protest. He just nodded, carefully wrapped his fingers around each of Jasmine’s limp biceps, and started to hoist up her disintegrating form. Alek’s eyes kept locked with mine for a moment longer, a million reassurances and melancholy comments and sighs transferring from him to me. Eventually though, his eyes tore from my grip and he closed the gap between him and the mangled pair, making me the outsider. Feeling helpless- feeling no longer the Uniter- I tightened my grip on my waist, almost digging my fingernails into the bullet shaped scars on my stomach that I swear were beginning to sear.   
Alek locked his arms around Jasmine’s waist as if she was a porcelain doll, and together the boys hoisted her up onto her bed. Her eyes were open. Though they were vacant, only staring at the whitewashed ceiling as if infinity was to be found there. For a second, panic flit through me at the idea of her being just a corpse, but the steady, yet careless, rise and fall of her chest reassured me otherwise.   
“Al-“ I began. But Alek shook his head, silencing me. It was obvious I was of no assistance. I basically wasn’t wanted there. I tried to shake away the intense melancholy I was beginning to feel, but seeing both boys I love (who, might I mention, would love to beat each other to death) were working together and completely disregarding me, well it was difficult not to feel some sort of teenage angst.   
Alek rested a gentle hand on Brian’s shoulder and the boys leaned into each other so that they could whisper like little schoolgirls gossiping.   
I couldn’t hear what they were chirping about, but both Alek and Brian’s faces were wrinkled with deep concentration.   
Brian nodded. Then Alek pivoted on his heels and marched towards me. He didn’t stop when he reached the hall, but grabbed my arm a tad too roughly and dragged me into the living room.   
“H-Hey!” I yelped.   
Still, Alek didn’t say a word to me.   
I watched Brian quietly close Jasmine’s bedroom door, and then both he and her were gone to me.   
Alek let go of my arm and started to pace around the couches. His lips were pressed together, his brows were clenched, and his hands were vibrating as he snapped his fingers again and again. This charade went on for what felt like forever. Even the moon was tired of this silence-noanswers thing, because when I turned to glance outside at the balcony, there was the blinding yellow of the sun drawing streaks into the purple sky like a crayon would.   
“Okay!” I barked in frustration, finally breaking the silence. Alek halted like he had hit a wall. He acted surprised, like he had forgotten I was there. Maybe he had.   
I pouted and plopped down onto one of the couches. “This being in the dark thing is-“   
I paused and chuckled at the fact that we were literally halfway in the dark while sitting in the penthouse at dawn. It was a humorless, bitter, interrupting laugh. Alek didn’t notice my slight hysteria.   
I sighed, and shook my body, trying to gather myself. “Alright, tell me what is going on Alek.”   
He blinked at me a couple of times, then wandered around the kitchen with his hand wiping at his forehead in distress. This couldn’t be just about Jasmine. Could it? I mean he had a harsh brotherly affection for her but the intensity was overwhelming.   
Either way, I was pretty convinced by then that he was just going to continue censoring himself and leave me all alone. I crossed my arms.   
Damn, we really needed to work together now more than ever. I needed to get myself together because everyone else was starting to fray. I had done my napping. Time to be the Uniter.   
I opened my mouth, ready to bark at Alek once more, to try and rattle him awake. But before I could say anything, thank god, he spoke.   
“Jasmine didn’t- doesn’t want to be seen like this,” he said to the floor.   
“Like what?” I asked in exasperation, as I propelled off of the couch and met Alek’s side. I dared to lay a hand on his forearm. He didn’t budge. The warmth of his skin was filling up my fingers.   
“Like . . . She thinks she is being pathetic. She doesn’t want anyone to know how weak she is right now! Jasmine, she fears so badly that she isn’t mi material anymore, that she isn’t capable of making proper judgments and isn’t able to protect you and us and her mom . . . God, Jasmine wishes she was there more to save her mom-“  
“-But she’s not dead! Valentina is-“  
“-And Zane, she thinks she should have known. She feels so foolish for being so blind. She hates herself for-“   
“Wait. Alek stop!” I took a step away from him and bumped into a kitchen chair. My hands shot out instinctly and clutched the wood. My head was spinning, but I shoved it away. “Are you- are you just trying to say she’s depressed?”   
He finally looked at me. His eyes bore into mine. A weird, slightly misplaced hopelessness was drowning his eyes. Everyone seemed to be falling apart.   
“Alek, poop like this happens. She shouldn’t have to feel ashamed-“  
“Brian is the only one who has been able to help her.” He said this sadly. “I couldn’t-“   
“Hey.” I said soothingly. “Stop it’s okay. Everything will be okay. We are all trying out best.” The reassurance was simply spilling out of me, even though I didn’t truly believe it. I mustered up a smile. It felt like the first smile that dared to exist for centuries. Even the penthouse felt heavy with a frown.   
“We’ll kick Zane’s ass, fight against the Order as long as we have to, and give each other some group therapy or something I don’t know! But as long as we stick together it will be okay!”   
I paused, hoping for a reaction. Alek continued to wring his hands. My heart clenched. I couldn’t stand seeing him so distraught. I needed to start acting.   
“Okay?” I continued kindly. I grabbed his face in my hands, made him look me in the eye. We waited there. A battle between hopelessness and the desire to survive this crazy thing called life.   
Eventually, he halfheartedly nodded.   
“Fine,” He muttered.   
“Fine,” I chirped.   
My fingers slid down his cheeks, his jawbone, and then I extracted them from his presence altogether. The feel of him haunted me.   
I turned away, prepared to take a stroll onto the balcony, to gather my thoughts and make up a game-plan. Though, no games were to be played here. Maybe if we-   
SLAM! The walls of the house rattled. My body vibrated with the force and I ducked with my hands covering my head.   
“FUCK!” Alek responded. The way he punched out the word caused me to flinch.   
I straightened up, spun around, fists in the air, ready. SO O O eager to punch something in the face.   
“What the fuck Amy!” Alek shouted.   
My shoulders drooped.   
Oh no.   
Alek grabbed a stricken Paul by the collar of his jacket. “You couldn’t have come in like normal ass people?”   
Amy’s eyes were wide in astonishment. Her fingers tightened around a thin slip of white paper that she had been holding up for all to see.   
All three of them stood in the doorway at a standstill.   
“Uh,” I mumbled awkwardly. “Hi. Welcome home.” Huh. Home.   
“H-hello,” Paul tried to chime. But his voice came out as a choke as Alek lifted Paul’s heels off the ground.   
“Alek!” I said steely. “Don’t take your crap out on other people.”   
Alek didn’t move for a moment. I worried that he was going to throw Paul into the kitchen sink.   
Then his grip loosened. His fingers burned red. He dropped Paul, shoved him into the door with an effortless punch, and marched out the front door. His heavy boots echoed through the complex’s hallway. Tension fogged up the air.   
“So, “ Paul said breathlessly, as he straightened his jacket. “Bad day huh?”  
“No kidding,” I whispered.   
“Us too.”  
Paul plucked the white slip from Amy’s hand and waved it around like a ribbon.  
“We would have been here earlier,” he said. “But Amy thought that the popo would understand if we told them we were speeding because my mom needed a ride to the hospital considering her water broke at home and my dad was at work. Heh, seems kind of ridiculous now.” Paul gave a sheepish shrug.  
I couldn’t contain it. I started to laugh. The sound was so foreign in the now sunlit house.   
Man it was too early for life.   
“Hold on a second,” I breathed.   
Amy cocked her head in confusion.   
“You-“ I giggled. “Got. A. Ticket. From. The police?”   
Oh god, once it started I couldn’t stop. One of those intense, hysterical, gut-wrenching fits of laughter. I keeled over. My stomach was throbbing from the sudden outbreak of movement. But I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop.   
Paul chuckled uneasily. “Well, ya. That happens when you go seventy five in a neighborhood.”   
“See, but-“ I gasped. “That. Is. THE MOST, mun-fucking-dane thing that has happened to us!!”   
“She just cussed,” Amy stated worriedly. “Chloe king just said a bad word.”   
“Well, it is kind of funny,” Paul agreed with a chuckle. “I mean, we have been through all of us crazy stuff and here we are, having to deal with something as normal as a parking ticket.”   
“Ya,” Amy said, starting to giggle now.   
I was becoming infectious. I was on the floor, laughing in a comedic way into the wood.   
It felt so good.  
“Ya, that is so true. Like, this kind of gives me hope in a weird way.”   
Jasmine was a vegetable in her room with Brian having the weight of her problems on his shoulders not knowing that Zane wants to kill him, Alek was having a mini break down, Valentina was in a coma on her bed. And here Paul, Amy, and I were, laughing our butts off on a dusty, battleground.   
Brian appeared above me without warning. His shadow covered me like a thin blanket.   
I looked up at him with a foolish smile; laughter was still spilling from my lips. It was uncontainable. I couldn’t stop it. The thought kind of freaked me out, and yet I was filled with such euphoria that part of me wanted to laugh forever into nothingness; a pile of grey glue shavings.   
“Go to bed Chloe,” he ordered.   
Then he turned away and disappeared behind Jasmine’s bedroom door


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13  
I woke up to rain washing across my everything.  
It wasn’t until I slammed my head into the facet when I was trying to sit up did I remember I was in the shower.   
I moaned, and rubbed furiously at the top of my head- as if that would smooth away all of my aches and worries, I mused.   
A steady stream of hot water thrummed across my back, kneading the knots in my muscles. My thoughts melted beneath the touch. Well, Jacuzzi-temperature water might help.   
I wanted to stay there forever, hunched within the water with my head locked between my knees; Stuck in a fetal position where no one could get a hold of me: Sorry, Chloe cannot come to Reality right now, please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEP.   
The bathroom seemed to escape the constricting embrace of time. Maybe, if I stayed there, I could figure everything out, find the answers, and leave the bathroom when I wanted to, and the world would still be exactly like it was when I had first climbed into the tub.   
If only.   
Sadly, things needed to start getting done. Something needed to happen. Hiding in the penthouse could only work for so long.   
My mom’s face faded into my mind.  
She must have called the police already. I was sure of it. A teenager missing for over a week? Yup.   
God, she deserved so much better.   
I have to call her, I think. I have to contact her, let her know I am okay.  
I hesitated to move though. I was lost in the consistent patter of the shower.   
Eventually though, I let out a monstrous groan, one that bounced against the walls and echoed all around me like a beautiful and natural tornado. Then I stretched my soggy limbs across the smooth ceramic of the tub.   
Reluctantly, I forced my fingers to twist the shower knob to “off”. The water sniffled and then ceased, and I was tempted to sniffle with it. BUT, instead of throwing the tantrum I was yearning to release, my body quivered with chills. Not cold chills, but emotional chills. I guess that was a more grown up way of dealing with the world. I guess.   
With my butt sticking to the tub, and a pathetic amount of hesitation, I started to concoct a mental checklist of things to do- gotta start somewhere:   
1\. Call mom and try to explain why I have forced myself to be an orphan  
2\. Stop whining  
3\. Restock the fridge with HEALTHIER options  
4\. Get someone to cook dinner. . oh wait, breakfast   
5\. Kick Zane’s ass . . Hold on, gather my troops and help them find mental stabilibly THEN 6. Kick Zane’s ass

Eventually, through the haze of the bathroom, I managed, sluggishly, to crawl out of the tub and drag cloths on. Now that I had a slight, miniscule idea of what to do, I felt all right. Not good, but no longer okay. I was so all right I even brushed my hair for the first time since I passed out. Happy unbirthday to me!   
I tried to ignore the blonde haired, bright eyed, chick that stared at me from the mirror as I tucked my hair into a bun and took in a deep, centering breath.   
Black shadows slithered beneath her eyes, reminding me to be the real robust, real ready, real real reflection.   
With that in mind, I thrust open the bathroom door. Instantly a wave of cool, fresh air wafted around me, forcing the haze to swirl around itself and disappear. The hallway was vacant but I could hear Amy’s high-pitched chatter, and- yes that was the smell of bacon and eggs!   
“ Time for reality”, I mumbled to the penthouse.   
My stomach growled. 

 

It was weird walking into the kitchen entrance that morning. Nice, but weird. When I had stridden into the bulk of our home, I had not expected to run into a “Sunday-morning-before-church-brunch” type thing. I mean, I wasn’t religious but I remembered seeing that kind of stuff on TV, and I heard people at school talk about it. I had to admit, it was kind of cool.  
The dining room counter was covered in all kinds of foods and drinks- from fruit and oatmeal, to egg sandwiches filled with hash browns and bacon stacked one on top of the other, and of course, cheese Danishes and muffins. I felt like I had walked down to a hotel buffet.   
I mean tons of food wasn’t weird- especially since my insides were whining and tugging at My Everything for attention- the fact that the atmosphere surrounding the food was . . . normal . . . . was the weird thing. I had to admit, I was a bit concerned. Why wasn’t the food swimming in negativity and despair?   
Before I could truly question that, a blur of optimism and rainbows startled my attention.   
Amy looked like a fairy as she danced around the kitchen with no shame. Her midnight hair followed her like a devoted partner, whom was willing to create a beautiful, tear-jerking duet with her as she sprinkled a bit of salt into the sizzling pan of eggs. I barely had time to process the glittering of the salt before she was pivoting to the counter to snatch a delicate bite of watermelon. As she chewed, she pivoted again to face the fridge. She swung the fridge door open and, with no hesitation or doubt, extracted a tub of bright and amazing looking orange juice from its designated spot.   
We had orange juice? Wait, Amy could cook? WAIT, was Paul sitting on the kitchen counter slicing apples?!   
“Hello, hello, hello my gorgeous Chloe, Chloe the best friend of me,” Amy sang, as she noticed me gaping at the content couple. She paused a moment to make eye contact with me, and then, having succeeded, off she went, laying out six clear, CLEAN, cups next to Paul’s hip. Paul managed- no, he didn’t need to manage- Paul happily smiled at me as he continued to concentrate on his apple slicing duties.   
“Uh,” I began with a flustered shake of my head. “Hi.”   
I dared to enter Disneyland.   
“How was your shower?” Amy asked.   
I slipped into a kitchen chair, letting my hips sway from side to side with the swiveling seat. “Great,” I shrugged. And, being in the presence of Amy, I knew, oddly enough, that that statement was true.   
“Where did all of this come from?” I eyed a muddy colored muffin that sat before me on a plate of every kind of flavor you could imagine. Giving in to its beautiful shimmer, and the sweet baby chocolate chips (everything seemed to taste better when it is claimed “baby-like”) I scooped up the goody and allowed myself to pick at the top. The sweet familiar taste melted in my mouth and happily lingered on my tongue.   
Gosh dang it maybe all I needed was a giant Costco chocolate muffin to solve my problems.   
“Paul and I went re-grocery shopping a little while ago,” Amy replied. She was now filling each of the six glasses to the brim with orange juice. My mouth watered. Orange juice never looked so good.   
“You went shopping while I was in the shower? Wow, you guys are efficient.”  
“What do you mean?” Paul said. He swiped the apple pieces from the counter and into a bowl.   
Unfazed, I picked at the middle of my muffin. Still swaying, I started to carve a hole in the middle of it. I stuck my finger in it. Hehe, I made a chocolate cave.   
“I mean, you guys were still here when I hopped in, and when I hopped out you’re here now!”   
“You do realize its ten thirty?” A new, harsh voice interjected. My bubble of happiness became tainted with bugs.   
“Oh.” Had I really fallen asleep for two hours in the shower?   
“We had thought you had drowned or something,” Amy joked, trying to reset the good mood. She was my devoted fly swatter.   
“Actually, none of us said anything. So if you had drowned, and been dead in the shower, we wouldn’t have guessed.”   
And there Moody Alek was being, well, Moody Alek. He was busying himself with the shattered balcony door. I knew he had been avoiding all human contact. I hadn’t even known he was there I had been so entranced by the kitchen scene.   
“Woops,” I said.   
“Sure,” Alek replied. He didn’t look at us. If he didn’t want to interact with us, why bother speaking up?   
He only focused on the empty frame. The sharp fragments of glass had already been swept up and disposed of. Now Alek was unsheathing a long piece of glass that still had a sticker on it that read “HOME DEPO!” in deep orange and black. Wow they were productive when I wasn’t around.   
“Okay,” I said, hoping to avoid the awkward silence that was already among us. I placed a piece of muffin on to my tongue and I tried to let it dissolve. But now the food tasted like sandpaper. Paul leaped off of the counter and quietly began to make a plate. Amy stood beside him, frowning at Alek.   
Great. Way to ruin my one happy moment Alek.   
I flicked the muffin piece onto the plate with a huff and stood up. The chair hadn’t expected my abruptness, and it continued to swing side to side like it was missing an occupant already.   
I knew the Sunday-brunch type feel was too good to be true.   
At least I got to play with my food without being told not to.   
Mom.   
“I’ll be right back,” I said. “ I have to go call my mom.”


	14. Chapter 14

“Hello?”   
I leaned against the bedpost. But deciding that it was creepy having Valentina sleep behind me, and possibly listen to my conversation (At least it was better than having Alek walk into his room and finding me crying like a baby), I turned around and leaned against the closed bedroom door.   
“Hello? Is anyone there?”   
“Uh-“ I said in a panic, hoping she wouldn’t hang up. “Hi! Hello! Hi!”  
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I berated myself. You have been missing for like a week and the only thing you can say is “hi”? Way to go daughter of the year.   
“Wait,” my mom replied in a whisper.   
My heart stopped.   
I knew it. I knew she would hate me. I knew she would want to basically kill me for what I have done to her. And what if she found out the real reason as to why I hadn’t been home? God, I was so stupid to ever think that I could tell her the truth and still be her daughter! She hates me. She never wants to see me again. Now that she knows it’s me she’s going to hang up and-   
“C-Chloe? Chloe- is that you?”   
My heart jump-started.  
I felt it beating in my chest like it might break my bones, rip through my muscles, and make a run for it.   
“Hi,” I said meekly instead of running. I held my eyes shut tight, still anticipating her to disown me.   
“Chloe!”   
“Mom-,” I began, desperate to explain myself. I wanted to tell her so badly. I wanted her to know everything.   
Her voice- MY MOM’S VOICE- sounded amazing to me. No, not amazing, perfect! My heart melted. The shadows that had been following me were slowly disintegrating beneath her power. She didn’t sound angry. My mom didn’t sound like she was going to disown me!!   
“Why would you skip school? Run away? NOT call me? Chloe I have been so worried about you I thought-“   
But she couldn’t tell me what she thought because the emotion was just too much.   
“I know,” I said like a lame teenager.   
I took a deep breath. My shoulder blades pushed roughly into the door. “I know. And I am so, so sorry mom.”   
“You should be- but oh god Chloe when Amy and Paul came over, I was so sure you had gotten into drugs or a gang or gotten pregnant and you were just too ashamed to come home! But-” Her mom paused. “You aren’t any of those things? Are you?”   
I hadn’t realized I was holding my deep breath until then. Slowly, I let it out as the idea that my mom still thought I was a normal, human girl.   
“No mom I-“  
“-Cause Chloe, baby, if something like that ever happens sure be afraid of my motherly wrath but still come to me so I can help you. You can tell me anything Chloe. I hope you know that.”  
My insides turned. I could tell her right now. Just go ahead Chloe, let your mom know that you are some impossibly real creature never heard of before in your human world!   
“Mom I am-“ a cold sweat broke over me. Do it. Do it! DO IT!! A voice screamed in the back of my mind. Take the chance, don’t be a coward, she’s your mom for crying out loud! JUST TELL HER NOW and get it over with dummy.   
I shoved tears back with a heavy gulp. If only I could, I thought helplessly. The voice in my mind shivered like an excruciatingly hot flame. But I just couldn’t. The words crawled back down my throat instead of out of my mouth. I felt like I was going to be sick.   
“-I am sure I can tell you anything,” I finally lie. “I just got scared. I didn’t want to drag you into this and hurt you. One thing after another and then I found that I had dug myself in to a hole.” Well, at least part of that was true.   
“Chloe, tell me where you are, I am coming to get you.” Mom’s no-nonsense-tone. Funny. That used to scare me into submission. But now that her life was on the line, I had to defy her once again. I was so tired of fighting.   
“Listen, I am really, truly sorry-“ I started desperately.   
“Chloe Marie King, I swear to God I will not take anymore aversion from you. You are coming home right now. This is insane!”  
“But mom just listen-“  
“Chloe,” my heart clenched at the sudden tiredness in her words. “At this point, I will listen to your story when you are safely in my arms and both of us are sobbing like babies about this whole endeavor. Please . . . Just come home.”  
I stared down at my bare feet. I hadn’t realized it until then, but I had been picking at a forgotten piece of shattered glass with my toes. My pinky toe was painting the wood floor light red. There I go again with the-getting-my-blood-on-the-floor-thing. Weird I had been so caught up in the phone to not notice the paper cut like sting.   
I took a deep breath. I had let this conversation go too far. I had only one option now. Taking in a shuttering breath, I wiped away the oncoming tears and said, “I love you. I will be home as soon as I can-“  
“Don- don’t Chloe! Wait-“  
“-Or maybe I will just stay out of your hair so you don’t have to feel such pain again-“  
“What are you say-“  
“Mmayb-bee go find your-your self,” the tears were coming strong now, “A lovelovelovely guy who will love ove you better than I cou-could ever. I wish the best for youuuuu. I just- I just can’t keep lying to you mommy. I am so tired. So- so incredibly tired of this all.” The dam cracked in uneven halves. The glue flaked away like ashes that rain down after a ginormous fire. I couldn’t stop the flow of tears. It was like a tsunami had come to flood the penthouse. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I let my back limply slide down the door. My butt plopped to the ground with a mercilessly jolt. The phone slipped out of my hands with a sickening crack. My vision was completely blurred. My chest was too tight. My stomach was clenched. My mind was a landfill of confused emotions.   
I sat there and cried. And heaved. And cried for god knows how long. Seconds, minutes, hours, I didn’t care. I couldn’t care.   
All I could do was cry.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
An aggressive knock on the bedroom door shocked me awake with a bone rattling thump, thump, thump. I hadn’t even known I was asleep. I guess I had cried myself into nothingness. I found myself exactly where I had left me: crumpled up against Valentina’s bedroom door.   
“Chloe?” A girl’s voice. Considering the circumstances that meant Amy’s voice was behind door number 1.   
Another knock. This one unsuspectingly soft.   
Did I have a door number 2? One that involved ice cream and being norm-  
Stop. Chloe King you must accept that this is your normal now. There is no such thing as a real “normal” anyway. You did not just break your mom’s heart to mope and give up instead of mope and take action. GOD DAMNNIT I am so sick of you!   
I squirmed against the door in frustration, attempting to rid myself of the negative and hopeless energy that consisted of me (And attempting to rid myself of the icky curse word I let slip). I could be extremely annoying to myself sometimes.   
You have to get a hold of yourself, I ordered. No more teenage angst crap. I needed to be strong. I needed to snap out of my intense, but none-the-less real, black hole and fix things the best I could. Because I could.   
My mind drifted back to the eighth grade when Principle Hamilton (Our third principle that year) decided it was a great idea to herd the entire ADHD School into the auditorium for a two-hour guest speaker assembly. He had said something that stuck with me (Surprisingly):   
“Your life is made up of your choices.”   
Ya, ya all phrases that come out of an inspirational speaker’s mouth sounded cheesy. But who was to say cheesy was not true? It was my life. I could decide to mope and give in or I could fight. No one else could tell me or force me to mope. Only me. And I had been giving myself permission to fall apart. Granted, breakdowns kind of just happen, but not every hour or, like, everyday. An image of a preteen me lying on my bed pretending to enjoy listening to scremo music popped into my head.   
Okay, I tell myself with a shake of my head, I will stop there with the reliving-the-past thing (I would like to thank the eighth grade speaker (who no one knows his name) at this time for randomly coming to my aid. Thanks man). Middle school should never be talked about once it is completed. Never.  
The door shuttered. My body followed without consent. Earthquake?   
My ears vibrated with the sound of fist meeting wood. Nope, person knocking.   
“Um, Chloe can I come in?”   
I was brought back to reality. Like I said, ADD.   
I swung my head from side to side, trying to inspire my Fight. Amy waited patiently outside, waiting for me to stall just long enough so that she could resume her part in pursuing me.   
After a moment of silence, the doorknob carefully twisted beside my head. Patience extinguished. A few of my hairs got caught in the twister. Poor little buddies. Never saw it coming.   
I pressed my back against the door in retaliation.   
“Ya,” I choked out. “Ya, just give me a second.”  
I began wiping furiously at my tear stained face. The tears had been long since dried, but I licked the palm of my hand and scrubbed away the evidence that created glasses around my eyes.   
I couldn’t get much better than a couple dry mascara flakes and faded eyeliner marks, so I hoisted myself up into a standing position after a second and stretched out my limbs in order to appear spritely.   
Once remotely satisfied with my clean up, I took a step away from the door and cleared my throat.  
“Come on in,” I ventured.  
Slowly, the door cracked open. A daring black curl snaked first into my vision. But, instead of being fed with three different kinds of shampoo and a special brand of hair spray, this curl gently flowed in the breeze that followed the opening of the door. Ya, girls notice things like that about their best friends.  
I couldn’t suppress the surprised “OH!” that escaped my lips when, instead of Amy, a bashful (foreign) Jasmine stepped into the room and stood in front of me. She looked sad still, but fresher than before. Like she had finally taken a shower and accidentally fallen asleep in it or something.   
Haha. I am so funny.   
“Hi,” She stated.   
“Uh-“ I drooled, unable to comprehend how she could have jumped out of her stupor quite so quickly.   
Snap out of it! I scolded.  
“Hi! Hello! Jasmine, hi! It is so nice to see you out of your depressi- ing bedroom,” I chirped as I excitedly skipped to her side and stole a hug. She didn’t hesitate to return the gesture. Actually, unlike previous hugs in our history, this one was meaningful and most wanted (In a good way).   
“Hi,” I said again, sheepishly.   
She smiled to the ground in amusement, her hair covering half her face, her heart only feeling half the emotion.   
A calming but rather awkward silence ensued. I had a couple of questions for her, ones I knew she wouldn’t feel like answering. Although, considering she woke up one day to find Brian comforting her, I would think she had a couple questions herself. And though I never felt like answering them in the first place, today I would make the choice to. Those questions hung in the air, as if asking whether or not we dared to adventure into such heavy topics right off the bat.   
“IIIIIII heard you missed breakfast,” Jasmine offered. The walls ate up the sound.   
“Uh, ya, ya I guess I did.” So did I.   
“So I brought you a plate.” The questions evaporated momentarily.  
My eyes fell upon what Jasmine was holding. I hadn’t noticed the gleaming ceramic circle resting in her hand until then and my stomach moaned and snarled with passionate hunger at the sight of it.   
I patted my tummy and tried to brush off the blush in my cheeks.   
“Shhh, patience pad wan,” I joked lamely as Jasmine pushed the food towards me.   
“Obviously this is well needed,” she said. Her eyes darted from side to side for a moment, as if searching for something. But maybe she just had something in her eyes, I justified.   
My stomach rumbled again, bringing me back to earth.   
I studied the contents on the plate: a turkey sandwich stuffed with condiments and meat and cheese, three homemade cookies (I could tell they were homemade because of their unusually crafty blob-like shapes), a juicy piece of bright colored watermelon, a bag of plump, unopened BBQ chips . . . My mouth watered like a dog’s does when the owner decides to hand over her left overs. My stomach agreed with my salivating by rolling over and barking.   
“Lunch time?” I asked, gratefully sliding the plate on to my hands.   
Jasmine’s eyes flickered behind me towards the occupied bed. Her lower lip betrayed a hint of on-coming quivers.   
“Uh,” she began distractedly. “No, actually-“ her eyes slowly trailed up and down the lump lying in the bed. “Dinner.”   
I casually took a side step in front of her line of vision and said, “Wow really? Man I must have needed more sleep than I thought these past few days,” I said as brightly and calmly as I could.   
Jasmine pretended to stretch her neck from side to side. Really she was craning it to look over my shoulders, my head, anything to see behind me. Obviously, seeing me had not been on her list of priorities.   
Couldn’t say I was offended or anything. She had every right to want to see her mom. But being in the state she was, I worried that seeing her mom would only deepen her anxiety and guilt. I felt like she needed to slowly be exposed to what was happening in order to grab her barring’s. Maybe I was wrong to do so, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.   
“Thanks SOOOO much!” I drawled, further ranting to keep her remotely occupied. “Again, I am so so sooo happy to see you out and about.” At this, I flashed her a dazzling, practically genuine smile. But Jasmine missed it. She half-smiled at what I had said, as if on cue or something, as her eyes continued to peer around me. Tears started to get in her way.   
“Anywayyyyyyy! I was just about to come out and see what was happening outside the bedroom when you knocked. What a coincidence right? Haha, funny stuff.” I knew I must have sounded utterly stupid, but I was desperate to divert her attention. I gently grabbed hold of her elbow and began to steer her out the door with me. “So, tell me, is anyone home? Or is it just us? Maybe we could have a movie-“  
“I did this,” Jasmine mumbled, so quietly I almost missed her words.   
I flipped her around to face the hallway. She obliged without protest but I think that was just because she was quickly falling into a vegetative state. “What was that beautiful?” I asked. She craned her head back, desperate to see Valentina.   
“I should have been stronger like she taught me. I should have known Zane was- I should have- I should have- I should have-“ she whispered over and over.   
Tears were freely sky diving off her cheeks now.   
“-I should have, I should have-“  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I exclaimed, while snapping my fingers next to her ear. “Jasmine come back to me. Everything is okay.”   
I stepped into the hallway, but even as I tugged and pulled at Jasmine’s limbs, egging her on to follow me, the best I could do was make her upper body sway towards me, threatening to crush me beneath her. And let me just say, Jasmine had ten times the muscle weight I did. Sooo, maybe not the best idea.   
“I should have!!” She bellowed, taking me off guard. I nearly jumped out of my skin. My hands instinctively leapt from her body. I hadn’t realized that she was relying me until she crumpled to the ground in a heap.   
The front of her shirt was already soaked with tears, and a harsh, fresh wave was just beginning to stir.  
“Jasmine!” I kneeled down beside her and began to pet her head soothingly.  
“Hey, stay with me,” I cooed. “I promise that everything is alright. You are okay. I am right her. I will not leave your side. See? you are not alone. And it is not your fault.”   
Her tears transformed into short, wet, heaving breaths. Her chest beat in time with my racing heart.   
Her body limply rolled into my lap, and I continued to comb her hair with one hand while rubbing circles on her furthest shoulder with the other.   
“Jasmine?” I whimpered. “Jasmine, Jaaasssmine, JASMINE-“  
“Jasmine.” This one is a command. “Look at me.”  
I can tell she is barely with reality. Her eyes only flickered to meet mine for a split second when I said her name, before roaming beneath closed lids.   
She was wheezing now. The sounds of child-like despair and defeat echoed through the penthouse. My heart slowly, painfully, broke in to two pieces.   
I wanted to help her but I just didn’t know how!  
“I-I’m sssss-ssorrr-rr-y,” she whimpered, her body jerking at every syllable. “So o – o o sss-sorr-rry.”  
“Shhh,” I replied gently. “No need to say sorry.”   
Her earth shattering sobs continued without skipping a beat.   
I glanced behind me. The hall walls seemed to me like clogged arteries all of a sudden. My eyes found their way to the brightly lit living room. The empty, brightly lit living room. Where was everybody?   
Feeling her squirm in my arms, I altered my hands to pet Jasmine with smoother and longer strokes versus short and quick one’s. But I continued to search the house as if I might find a clue as to why the two most seemingly unstable of us all were alone.   
Eventually, after rocking back and forward on my butt to the point of numbness, Jasmine’s sobs melted into hiccupping sniffles. Her breathing had slowed, but by only a fraction. She kept muttering under her soaking breath, things like: “I’m crazy I’mcrazyI’mcrazy,” or “I should have”, or “why such darkness all around”.   
“Shhh. Shhh, its alright,” I whispered over and over. Because by then, my voice was beginning to grow hoarse and my energy was all over the place, ricocheting back and forward on the walls like a ping-pong game.   
The living room had grown dark as, I dimly realized, the had sun set without thinking about the people on earth who might have needed a little extra light. I glared at the ceiling as if the sun might feel my wrath.   
The shadows started to pop up one-by-one, then three-by-three. Darkness threatened to creep in around us.   
But no, I had to stay strong. For Jasmine and mom, for myself.   
What would my mom do? I think. How would she help me if I were on the floor having a panic attack?   
Suddenly I felt too young to be handling life. However, I willed myself to push through disarming thoughts and emotions because I had to. I did not allow myself another choice.   
Jasmine’s lids were shut tight over restlessly shifting eyes, as if a barricade was to be made between her sight and the world. Her fingers twitched a bit, they occasionally tapped on my knee or my thigh or the ground. The tears had finally stopped coming. I think she dried herself up. And, though her breathing sounded heavy and struggled, the panic had settled to the bottom.   
She was asleep.   
I had stopped petting her a while ago, but my fingers had become so accustomed to the motion that they automatically brushed her hair away from her face. She didn’t look calm like she should have while resting, but the lines in her face did begin to smooth out. Slowly but surely.   
Not wanting to leave her on the floor, and desperately not wanting her to wake up still in her coma-induced mothers room, I delicately extracted myself from beneath Jasmine’s body and mulled over a way to carry her to her room across the hall.   
In the end, the only way I could see my plan happening was by carefully dragging her.   
I didn’t know what time it was, but I was sweating and the night had for sure been haunting San Francisco for more than an hour by the time I lugged Jasmine on to her bed. She didn’t stir. And I was thankful for that.   
I turned to go away. But I lingered in the doorway, hesitant to leave her by herself. Maybe I should sleep in the chair across from her bed? Or on the floor? Or maybe I should just stay up and make sure that I am totally awake and ready to help if she needs anything?  
I rubbed at my face. Catching myself mid way, I clamped my hand down to my side. Man was I tired. Despite having slept during the entire day, I was pooped.   
I decided against sleep. I didn’t want Jasmine to be startled into another panic attack if she woke up alone in the dark, somehow in her room.   
So I plopped down on to the living room couch and flipped the TV on, making sure to keep the volume down extra low in case I missed a noise from the hall.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16   
“Good morning sleepy head,” a chipper voice announced. Reluctantly, I opened one bleary eye to find Amy’s face bobble heading in front of mine.   
I blindly searched for a pillow, and, when I finally encountered one, shoved it over my head. As if I could block out the idea of having to really wake up.   
Ha. Ha ha. Hahaha.   
The pillow was ripped away. ! Reality check! And the sun seared my eyes. I hissed, pretending to be a vampire- one that does not sparkle.   
“Ah come on,” Amy fake pouted. “You can actually eat breakfast this time. I promise!”   
Food.   
I leapt off of the couch and scrambled towards the kitchen counter. Amy laughed at me. My stomach howled in response.   
Last night I hadn’t had time to enjoy the plate Jasmine had brought me. In fact, where was it? I didn’t remember dropping it. I guess, in haste, I had placed it on the dresser beside the doorway? I don’t know. The workings of last night were a slight blur- the workings, not the actual events however.   
“Is Jasmine-?” I began, as I simultaneously shoved half a Costco muffin into my pie hole.   
“Jasmine? Oh she’s fine. Sleeping like a baby in her room.” Relief flooded through me.   
Amy slid in to a seat beside me and decided to pick at a bowl of fruit, completely ignorant to Jasmine’s breakdown last night.   
“How are you?” Amy tried to ask nonchalantly. She studied her slice of mango with unnerving intensity.   
I paused mid muffin bite. “Ready to conquer,” I replied cryptically.   
Amy opened her mouth to strike another question, but strike out! (Not sorry for that) Paul waltzed in to the room with a hearty “Howdy everyone!” before she could say anything more.   
“Hey Paul,” I said with a smile. Deciding to be okay felt a thousand times better than being mopey and hopeless. And, you know what, it felt good despite all of the poopoo that had been going on. I felt kind of okay about everything, like I could somehow handle it all. I guess I was ready to conquer. I mean, I woke up just as many normal teenagers did, I was scarfing down food like a garbage disposal as many normal teenagers did, AND I was conversing with my best friends as many NORMAL teenagers did (without any psycho barging in and trying to kill me. Yet).   
Elated with myself, I barely noticed when Brian burst through the front door carrying two things of plastic water bottles, one on top of the other.   
He dropped them on to the counter with a hefty, crinkling, thump. He didn’t so much as glance at me as he tore a water from its carrying case and began to chug it. The container was empty by the time he was done with it. He crushed the plastic between his hands and tossed it in to the recycling bin that I was unaware we had. It looked brand new- all shiny and bright. Amy was really out doing herself, acting all “mother hen” like. Where was this money coming from? I had no idea. I was about to ask when Brian stomped towards the hall, patting Amy on the back almost-lovingly, and giving Paul a dude-hand-shake on the way.   
I gaped at his back before it disappeared in to the bathroom.   
I twisted in my seat to stare at Amy. “What was that about?” I asked incredulously. “Gone back to the fourth grade have we? And when did Brian act like everything was normal?!” Ha, the cruel, cruel irony.   
Amy sighed. “He’s just having trouble adjusting to how things are,” she said evasively.   
“Does he know-“  
“Alek told him.”  
“So I’m a freak-“  
“He didn’t take Alek’s, and I quote, ‘bullshit lies’.”  
I hated it, but I felt a smidge of happiness that Brian and Alek still butted heads. At least something was slightly consistent. At least they were still my boys.   
No, I stopped myself with a sad realization. Neither of them was mine anymore. I didn’t deserve them in the least bit.   
“Hmm,” was all I said aloud.   
“You can imagine he is kind of angry, hurt, feeling betrayed right now huh?”   
“Huh,” I agreed.   
I continued mauling my muffin to oblivion in silence. Then I moved on to the omelets and oatmeal. 

* * * *  
I popped out of the bathroom with fresh teeth. And I had planned on sitting everyone down, meaning Alek, Paul, and Amy for a meeting about Zane with those fresh teeth (And metaphorically fresh mind) but, of course, who happened to just be exiting Jasmine’s room as I exited the bathroom? DING, DING, DING, Brian.   
Sighing, I made a quick life decision like a good little young adult.   
“Hey, not that you want to talk to me, or even really see my face, which is totally understandable-“ I ranted quickly. I jogged to meet up to him.   
He looked in front of him at Valentina’s bedroom door. “-But last night Jasmine-“   
“You keep lying to me,” Brian barked quietly. The words fell out of my mouth and smacked in to the floor. I just wanted to find some common ground and inform him of Jasmine’s breakdown. And then this. Well, can’t complain. While brushing my teeth, I had been chanting to myself, “ready to conquer” over and over until the idea sunk in so deep it became surreal. Time to conquer I guess.   
“You used me to go to some museum, and I was such a fool for thinking that I could still, at least, be friends with you. That I could at least help you because, you know, you deserved it. But now I know that I shouldn’t have. After finding you kissing- I should have just dropped you right there. Saved myself some heartache. Next time, well, I know better now.”   
“Then why are you still here?” I demanded, all traces of Jasmine escaping my mind.   
Brian finally met my gaze. His eyes shimmered with hurt and emotional exhaustion. I wanted to take a step back, but I refused myself the comfort.   
“It’s not for you if that’s what you think,” he replied.   
The words stung more than I had anticipated.   
“Ouch,” a voice inserted itself.   
Brian and I glanced down the hall to find Alek standing nearby.   
“And this is where I don’t use the bathroom right now,” he stated. He pivoted on his heels and started back towards the living room. “Even though Chloe took ages,” he added in a dramatic mutter.   
Brian and I just stared, unsure if to go on with our fight (heated discussion?) or not.   
“I know I don’t deserve anything from you,” I eventually said to the floor. “I have treated you beyond horribly.” From the corner of my eye I saw Brian nod as if in confirmation. “And you should never, ever forgive me for lying and keeping secrets and being weirdly evasive- and did I mention I’m sorry- and basically cheating on you-“  
“Basically?” Brian moved as if to walk away.  
“For actually cheating on you!” I spurted, causing him to halt.   
Feeling kicked in. I really did cheat on him. And technically more than once. How could I? There was no excuse for such a thing and, even as I did it, I knew that. I felt like a terrible person. And I needed to change something.   
Tears welded in my eyes. “I don’t know why I can be so stupid. I hurt you. Both of you-“ I pointed feebly to Alek’s back. He turned around, obviously having been listening.   
“And I cannot express how sorry I am. I do not deserve either of you. And I have realized that I need to figure my stuff out before I decide to ever date again.” As I said it, I knew it was true. I did need to figure myself out. I couldn’t fall into just any relationship that called my name. I needed to be emotionally stable and ready to trust and be trustworthy.   
“I understand if you guys dislike me with a burning passion. And you don’t have to forgive me so that I have a clear conscious. You should just move on with your lives and forget I ever existed for you sake.”   
“Ya like that’s possible,” Alek said sarcastically. He had inched closer to Brian and me.   
“I know that you and I have some problems to figure out first but after that I will step out of your lif-“  
“That’s not what I meant Chloe.”   
I looked up at him sharply. Brian stood stiffly between us.   
“It’s bloody near impossible to just forget about a girl like you.”  
“Wha-“  
“Just forget it,” he said suddenly, as if he hadn’t meant to bring up the subject at all. I stared at him in bewilderment.   
Brian glowered at Alek. And I knew he hated me. He had to. He hated that Alek still continued to sort of compliment me. I mean I didn’t deserve it right? I didn’t.   
“Anyway,” Alek said, as he began to cross us to get to the bathroom, “I’m just saying that I don’t hate you.”   
He shut the door behind him with a final click.   
Brian and I were left alone.   
“I don’t hate you either,” Brian muttered to my surprise, after an awkward silence ensued of course. His features softened just a smidge. Hot dang, I would take it!  
I forced him to meet my gaze. Steadily, I held it for a moment before saying softly, “thank you.”  
I crossed passed Brian towards the bulk of the house. But his hand grasped my upper arm.   
“I don’t forgive you,” he stated clearly. “I just don’t hate you.”  
“I know,” I said. “I know.”  
And I walked away, feeling as if I had been punched in the gut despite the achievements I had just made.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17   
“How’d it go?” Amy inquired, as she rocked us back and forward on the balcony swing chair. The soft wind brushed my hair away from my face and cooled the intense unease I was feeling.   
“Good,” I replied, but quickly crumpled in to myself afterwards as reality sunk in. “Bad. Oh I don’t know!” I thrust my hands in to the crisp, polluted city air with a flurry of emotion.  
Amy patted me on the back gently, consolingly. “That’s okay,” she stated. There was a moment of silence aside from the thrum of cars down below, and the creak of the swing as Amy’s feet pushed off the ground.   
Part of me mused at the scene: typical best friend helping best friend with boy trouble.   
“Hey, it’s cool Chlo,” Amy broke through the quiet. “We all have boy troubles. I mean, look at Bella Swan. She was in a pret-ty similar situation as you. Two boys, two worlds, two-“  
“Oh my god,” I sputtered dramatically. “Oh my god.” I hit Amy’s shoulder. “Oh my god!”   
“What?!” She giggled, as she hid behind her arm, preparing for another blow.   
“YOU DID NOT JUST COMPARE ME TO CHEESY-TWICHTY MCGEE?”   
“Maybe,” she admitted in a small voice.   
“What’s wrong?”  
Amy ‘s and my head whipped around in surprise. Alek was standing rigidly between the newly refurbished glass doors; his expression was beyond serious. He looked ready to fight, and yet so ready to sleep too.   
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “We were just-“ I motioned to Amy helplessly.   
“Being girls,” Amy saved.   
Alek huffed and purposefully did not stifle an eye roll as he turned and marched back in to the house.   
“Whoops,” Amy chuckled.   
My giggles were cut short by a knowing sigh. “He has every reason to be on guard right now.”  
A second passed. Our eyes automatically drooped shut. The breeze played with our hair, our eyelashes, and our cloths. The salty chill swept us away to another place, as did the consistent flying motion of the bench. I felt infinite. I felt calm. I felt capable.   
After a while though . . . .  
“So what are we going to do now?” Amy muttered quietly.   
I allowed one eye to peek at her.   
“About what?” I asked, though I already knew.   
The swing paused mid-decent. It was almost like we were suspended in the sky, away from everything so that I could gather my thoughts and finally work things out.   
“I mean about this,” and with that Amy’s hands swept past each other like a showgirl demonstrating a game show.   
Slowly, contemplatively, my other eye shuttered open. I had to control a gasp as I studied my best friend.  
As if I had been wearing 3D glasses up until now, Amy suddenly appeared to me like a child: dark bags weighed her eyes down, specks of red flecked the edges of her eyes, her cheeks were flushed a pale reddish yellow, and her shoulders remained tightly by the edge of her chin.   
God, what was I doing to my friends? We were all exhausted and ready to go home, real home.   
Sadness washed through my system, but so did determination. With fiery eyes I made contact with Amy’s.   
“We’re going to hold a meeting. Now.”

* * * * * * * *  
The sofa was packed. Alek sat on the edge; Jasmine squished between him and Brian, and next to that trio sat Amy and Paul. The other couch lay alone and seemingly forbidden. I stood near that couch . . ..  
“Jasmine,” I whispered, as Alek stared off in the distance and Amy, Paul, and Brian participated in conversation.   
She had been staring down at her folded hands in her lap- a dull, distant stare.   
Slowly her head lifted up. “Are you okay?” I mouthed, careful not to embarrass her.   
She nodded. Exactly what I expected.   
“Come talk to me later,” I urged. She nodded again.   
Diverting my attention to the entire couch, I said loudly, “alright. Let’s get down to business.”  
“To defeat the Huns,” Paul added gleefully. Alek leaned further away from everyone. Jasmine did nothing. Brian raised an eyebrow. Amy giggled. I couldn’t help but smile.   
“Anyway,” I continued. “First official business of this meeting, I would like to say to you all, go home.”  
All heads snapped up.  
A tsunami of voices erupted.  
“We’re not safe-“  
“Chloe are you crazy?”  
“Your mom would be jeopardized”   
“Ya, why aren’t we home now anyway?”   
“What if Zane-“   
“The Order will-“   
“I will stay here,” I shouted above the clamor. “Alone. No more danger for all of you. Go home, you deserve it. I can’t keep putting your lives at stake.“ at that my eyes found Brian’s face. His expression was steady but bewildered.   
He stood up. “I don’t understand why all of you are here anyway. At first I thought, ‘hey, you are all just really close friends, and maybe Alek and Jasmine are college students and they rent out this place’. But then why do all of you keep talking about this one guy? He’s just a person. Why is he stopping all of you from living your lives? You are giving this, this bully (?) power over you like he wants. It’s stupid. Go home. I agree with Chloe, except for that she should go home too. It’s stupid.” With that, he plopped back down in his seat.   
There was nothing but quiet.   
“Because, you bloody idiot,” Alek spat eventually. “My ‘bullshit lies’ are true.” To me he said. “Chloe, what the hell are you thinking?”  
“It was worth a try,” I replied.   
Amy put a gentle hand on Brian’s shoulder and nodded. “Zane is more than just a ‘bully’. He’s a-“ she struggled to describe him. “He’s a-“  
“A monster.” I finished. “And he won’t stop until I am dead. Neither will the Order.”  
“This is crazy!” Brian shot up out of his seat.   
“I understand why you don’t trust me,” I said softly. “But, for the sake of your life, trust what everyone else says.”  
“For the . . . sake . .of my life? Chloe are you threatening me?”  
“No. No,” I sputtered. “I’m trying to save you from me.”   
“I’m going home,” Brian said. He roughly grabbed his jacket from the edge of a swinging chair, leaving it to twirl ominously, and headed for the door.   
“Wait!” I yelped.   
“No one can leave,” Alek stated. He shifted around in his seat to look at a frazzled Brian. Brian’s hand clutched the knob with deadly tension. “If you leave, they will hunt you down and use you as leverage to get Chloe. And she will give herself up for you. And then we will have to go after her. And either we will all die, or by some bloody way we will save your arses and live happily every after. But not without bloodshed and pain.”   
Brian’s grip loosened a smidge. “This is all real?” He asked faintly.   
“Brian I’m sorry,” I began. “I’m sorry I dragged you in to this but you were dead and I had no choice and now you have to let me protect you-“  
“Dead?”  
“Oh Jesus,” Alek muttered as he shifted restlessly in his seat. “This has become the Bloody Brian Show.”   
“How was I dead? And now. . Alive?” He leaned against the front door as if he might faint. “Chloe what the hell is going on?”  
“Remember when we went to the museum?” He nodded mutely. “Well, some bad guys, guys from the Order, they, they tricked me in to thinking my dad was there. They shot me,” my fingers crawled up my shirt and automatically found the indent in my stomach. A phantom aching sprouted. “You thought I was dying, so you ran up to me. We uh-” I glanced nervously at Alek. “We kissed. And I shouldn’t have. I mean Mi kisses are deadly! That is how I first discovered I was this creature and not human and you faded away, you grew cold, I held you in my arms and, and, we drove you here. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t leave your dead body on the bloody steps of a public museum, I couldn’t!” All eyes were on me save Alek’s. And it took me a second to notice how heavy my breathing had gotten. My head was beginning to spin. “I didn’t want to have to drag you in to this Brian. But now you’re here. And Zane knows that you’re here and he knows . . . “ my eyes became attracted to the floor. “He knows that I love you. And he will do anything to get to you in order to hurt me. Anything.” Brian’s hands were no longer on the knob, but his body was slowly slumping to the ground.   
“Chloe I-“  
Alek burst in to a standing position. “Okay, well now that we have that established what the fuck are we going to do about everything else?”  
Tears welded in my eyes at the lost look on Brian’s face. He was completely on the ground now, a heap of confusion and fear.   
“Go after Zane now?” Amy offered. “While he doesn’t know it.”  
“No,” Alek said. “Zane would know we were coming. Besides, I hardly think we are emotionally stable at the moment.” His eyes met mine with a cold harshness.   
“Stay here and do nothing?” Amy ventured.   
“That is getting us no where. You think your parents won’t call the cops soon? Anyway, Clary’s mom has already tried the cops and tried to find her lost daughter. Soon, she’ll be tracking her down and marching up these steps herself in order to figure out what the hell is going on.”   
Mom. The reminder sent a cold chill through my heart. I took a step back, as if I had been shot with an ice-covered arrow.   
“Find somewhere else to hide?” Paul ventured.   
“Hide? I’m done with hiding.” Paul winced. My voice came out harsher than I had anticipated. “I’m done with running. Zane wants me. Well, he can have me if that clears everything up.”  
“But it won’t Chloe,” Alek shot. He took an earnest step towards me. “They’ll torture you. They’ll study you like an animal. Then they will kill you until every one of your lives has suffered. And for what? The Order will gain too much knowledge; they will wipe out the entire Mi culture by starting a worldwide war. They will hunt every one of us down until they are completely in control and have no more ‘abominations’ tainting their world. Until they no longer feel threatened.”  
Amy was crying now. Paul had his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder.   
Jasmine looked dead.  
“No Chloe, you can’t just give yourself up. You are a symbol to all the Mi that still exists. You are a piece of hope that allows us to remember that The Order will not wipe out our entire family because we won’t let it.”   
“Alek I’m not that-“  
“Special?” He interrupted. “But you are Chloe. You are.”


End file.
